Crazy Rich Asians sequel is finally happening, but not as originally planned

Everything that happened before Covid can seem like another lifetime. Certainly a different cultural era, but let’s flash back to 2018.

Crazy Rich Asians had just come out in cinemas and it was a very big deal.

Obviously, there was the part about it being the first Asian-led theatrical movie made by an American studio in a quarter of a century, and the film’s significance in terms of Asian diaspora representation in Western culture.

But it was also just a good time, an exuberant rom-com packed with joy, openness and colour. There were fireworks! There was a big wedding! There was a last-minute dash to a plane to stop someone from leaving!

Awkwafina cracked jokes. Ken Jeong cracked jokes. Ronny Chieng cracked jokes. And Henry Golding was very pretty.

There was even a subtextual power play communicated through mahjong tiles. What more could you want?

So, yes, it was a good time. It also happened to a commercially successful good time, grossing $US239 million off a production budget of $US30 million. A sequel was a no-brainer.

And yet.

There were many attempts, and there were many failures to get one off the ground, until now.

Warner Bros has confirmed it has greenlit a Crazy Rich Asians sequel, but it’s not coming to cinemas. Instead, it will be a series on HBO.

The show has been described as a one-hour drama and will have eight episodes. The implication is that the story will pick up pretty soon after the events of the film. Kwan wrote two more books, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems, as part of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy.

Constance Wu, Golding and Chieng will reprise their roles as series regulars and Michelle Yeoh will return in a recurring capacity.

Crazy Rich Asians was based on a bestseller by Kevin Kwan and told the story of Asian-American academic Rachel who is dating Nick Young, but only discovers that her boyfriend comes from a very wealthy family when they visit his family in Singapore.

The story explores the culture clash between diaspora Asians and those who still live in Asia, as well as the lifestyle gap between the middle class and the ultra-rich, conflicts which play out through Yeoh’s character, Nick’s formidable mother, Eleanor, who originally disapproves of his relationship with Rachel.

Filmed primarily in Singapore, the cast for Crazy Rich Asians hailed from the world which also included Australians Remy Hii and Chris Pang, Brits Gemma Chan, Sonoya Mizuno and Jing Lusi, and Americans Nico Santos, Harry Shum Jr and Jimmy O. Yang.

Adele Lim, who co-wrote the screenplay for the film, will serve as showrunner for the series, which is a great outcome as Lim had previously publicly fallen out with the now-franchise after a pay dispute.

After the success of the first film, Lim and co-screenwriter Peter Chiarelli were contracted to write two sequel features, but Lim quit when it emerged the studio would pay her significantly less.

Lim didn’t reveal the extent of the gap but The Hollywood Reporter at the time cited sources that the offer started at $US110,000 while Chiarelli was being courted with a pay day in the range of $US800,000 to $US1 million.

The proposal was later revised but only after Chiarelli offered to split his fee with Lim, but Lim still turned down the projects, seemingly out of principle.

She said at the time, “Pete has been nothing but incredibly gracious, but what I make shouldn’t be dependent on the generosity of the white guy writer.”

Lim went on to write Raya and the Last Dragon for Disney, and then made her directorial debut with the raucous comedy Joy Ride.

Jon M. Chu, who directed the film, and Kwan will be among the show’s executive producers.

The series will start filming in 2027.