Crazy Rich Asians sequel back on track with new screenwriter onboard
The sequel was on hiatus after one of the screenwriters who worked on the first film walked away from the project because of a pay disparity.
The 2018 rom-com Crazy Rich Asians, adapted from Kevin Kwan’s novel of the same name, took the box-office by storm and made household names out of several of its cast members, including Henry Golding and Gemma Chan. Â
A sequel had been planned but hit a snag when one of the screenwriters from the first film, Adele Lim, walked away from the project due to a pay disparity issue in 2019. She had reportedly been offered just a tenth of co-writer Peter Chiarelli’s pay.
Chiarelli and director John M Chu continued developing the sequel, but the project was halted due to the pandemic.
Now, it seems, everything’s back on track with a new screenwriter, Amy Wang, onboard and taking on solo writing duties, reported Deadline on Monday (Mar 21).
Writer-director Wang, who is Chinese-Australian, won the Young Director Award at the Cannes Lions festival in 2018 for her short film Unnatural. She is also currently writing and directing a horror feature for Paramount/QC Entertainment, added Deadline.
Crazy Rich Asians is the first of a trilogy that includes China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems.
Golding and Constance Wu will reprise their roles in the sequel, although no other details have been revealed.
The first film, which followed a Chinese-American professor’s experience meeting her boyfriend’s mega-rich Singaporean family, also starred Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina and Ken Jeong.
Lim, the screenwriter from the first film, has since gone on to co-write the Oscar-nominated animated film, Raya And The Last Dragon, a project that reunited her with Chan and Awkwafina. She is also making her directorial debut with an untitled comedy.
