Arden Cho Turned Down ‘Teen Wolf’ Movie Over Pay Inequity

Arden Cho is weighing in about her decision not to appear in Paramount+’s upcoming Teen Wolf movie.

The streaming platform announced in February that the original MTV series, which signed off in 2017 after six seasons, would be revisited in a sequel film that would bring back most of the core cast. Cho and Dylan O’Brien will not return for the movie, and Deadline reported at the time that Cho, the only woman of color among the show’s four female regulars, had turned down the film due to having been offered half the per-episode salary of the three other actresses.

Cho publicly addressed the situation for the first time. When asked about the report regarding her salary, Cho told the outlet, “I think I was actually offered even less.” She added that the leaked salary information did not come from her team: “I probably would’ve never shared it.”

The 36-year-old actress, who is set to play the lead role in the upcoming Netflix legal drama series Partner Track, went on to say that she knows she’s not the only actor of color to deal with pay-inequity frustrations. “I could probably, off the top of my head, think of over 10 Asian-American actors I know who were paid significantly less than their counterparts,” Cho shared. “Sometimes you don’t have a choice to say ‘no.’ Sometimes you just need it. You’ve got bills to pay.”

She said she hopes her decisions can help lead to change for other performers. “I wasn’t saying ‘no’ necessarily for me or because I was angry,” Cho said. “I was saying ‘no’ because I hope that there will be more equality in the future.”

Cho played kitsune Kira Yukimura, a love interest for lead Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), on three seasons of Teen Wolf before her character was written out after season five. About getting the call that Kira wouldn’t return for season six, she recalled, “I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it.” She said she concluded, “There wasn’t room for Kira.”

O’Brien, who played Stiles Stilinski, is also not returning for the film that longtime Teen Wolf showrunner Jeff Davis will write and direct. None of the show’s other castmembers, including O’Brien, spoke to the publication about the situation, but the Maze Runner star had previously liked a tweet supporting Cho. “He’s always been very, very supportive,” Cho said about O’Brien.

MTV Entertainment Studios and MGM’s Orion Television are behind the film that does not currently have a premiere date.

Representatives for Paramount+, MTV and Orion did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MarkMeets Media.