Seth Rogen‘s The Green Hornet has filled in some vacant roles, including the huge co-star role of Kato, which was long-expected to be handled by Stephen Chow.

The role of Kato was officially announced last week by Columbia Pictures. The part will be played by Jay Chou, a singer and actor from Taiwan who appeared in The Curse of the Golden Flower. Chou is definitely not as big as Stephen Chow, but it is pretty admirable that they’re giving the part to someone less known here in the States. It’s also a little confusing trying to figure out why they go for the star power in people like Nicolas Cage and Cameron Diaz, but a more obscure name for Kato. It should be interesting to see this all play out.

Even more exciting — though it will likely be a much smaller role — is the declaration of Edward James Olmos that he will be joining the cast, as well. The actor spoke to Hollywood Snitch recently and had this to say:

No word yet on who Olmos will play, but it will surely be fun to see him in a superhero movie.

[Source: via Coming Soon]