Fans are starting to get to know the new teenage hockey players on Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. The Disney+ series finds The Mighty Ducks has become a super competitive team that doesn’t accept players who just want to have fun. So a player cut from the Ducks forms the Don’t Bothers at Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez)‘s ice rink. Sway Bhatia plays Sofi, one of the Ducks’ star players who decides to join the Don’t Bothers.
Bhatia spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet by phone before the premiere of Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Now that you’ve seen Sofi skate for a few episodes, here’s a little more background on how she became a part of the show. New episodes premiere Fridays on Disney+.
‘Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ first asked Sway Bhatia to play this role
Putting together a cast is a bit like putting together a team. You have to try people in different roles to find out what they’re best suited for. As part of the process, Bhatia read for a Don’t Bother before she was cast as a Mighty Duck.
“The role I was up for first was the role of Lauren played by Bella Higgenbotham,” Bhatia said. “I actually read the script because we were given the first episode. I saw the character Sofi and it said she was Indian. So I read it and I was like uh huh, okay. Then I went into my audition and they told me right away. They were like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to bring you back for Sofi’ and I actually was like okay, that makes sense. They brought me back next week for the next role.”
‘Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ changed Sway Bhatia’s character even more after casting her
Sofi’s parents want her to stay on the Mighty Ducks for clout on her college applications. Sofi was always going to be have parents of different backgrounds, but the specific mix changed.
“Sofi was originally written as an Indian-African-American girl so she was always an Indian mix girl,” Bhatia said. “After I booked the role, they kind of changed it to more of an Indian-Hispanic girl. That’s where we’re at now. I have an Indian mom and a Hispanic Dad so it’s pretty cool.”
The Mighty Ducks movies already had diverse casts. Bhatia was happy to see the franchise’s diversity grow on the Disney+ show.
“In the original, they definitely had a great diverse cast and Kenan Thompson, he is absolutely amazing,” Bhatia said. “I’m a big fan of his. In this show, we’re still super diverse. It’s me, there’s another character who plays Koob, his name is Luke Islam. There’s a few others that are pretty diverse in this cast which I think they did a great job with.”
Sway Bhatia once had a longer name
Sway is short for Swayam. Bhatia told Showbiz Cheat Sheet her parents picked the name before she was born, but changed it once they met her.
Swayam is a male name. Then when I was born, I came a girl and they were shocked but they weren’t mad. Honestly, they just took my name to the advantage and kind of broke gender barriers. They gave me the nickname Sway because it’s just a fun spunky name and I’ve loved it ever since. I guess I kind of have to but I do honestly love it. Everybody loves my nickname. It was really fun, especially getting to be a dancer. Something I always cherish is when I’m in dance class and they go this next move is swaying, and they look at me, they go no pun intended. I always love that. I get it a lot but it’s great.
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