Crazy Rich Asians Spinoff In the Works With Barry Writer
The world of Crazy Rich Asians is officially expanding. On Friday, it was revealed that a spinoff project for the hit Warner Bros. film is currently in early development, with Barry producer and writer Jason Kim penning the script. The project would revolve around the romance between Gemma Chan's Astrid Young Teo and Harry Shum Jr.'s Charlie Wu, both of whom debuted in the first film. Reports indicate that Kim presented "a dynamite pitch" for the story. Kim is also involved with the upcoming film adaptation of Michelle Zauner's debut novel Crying in H Mart, as well as the upcoming original musical KPOP.
This news comes just a few months after confirmation that the long-awaited sequel to Crazy Rich Asians is back in development, with Amy Wang (Brothers Sun, From Scratch) penning the script. While that sequel does not currently have a title, it is expected to be inspired by the second book in Kevin Kwan's best-selling series, China Rich Girlfriend, which does partially center around Astrid and Charlie's relationship. The studio originally planned to have China Rich Girlfriend and the third film, Rich People Problems, film back to back in 2020.
"It has been completely insane," Kwan said of the series' success in a 2020 interview with The Guardian. "I felt, in the words of my friend the artist Judy Chicago, that my life exploded and I'm still trying to put it back together. I jumped on the rollercoaster, it's been really chaotic for the last seven years."
Crazy Rich Asians followed Chinese-American professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), whose world is turned upside down when she discovers that her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), is from one of the richest families in Singapore. The film also starred Lisa Liu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Michelle Yeoh, Sonoya Mizuno, Ronny Chieng, and Jimmy O. Yang. The film was a surprise box office success, grossing over $238 million in the summer of 2018 and becoming the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the 2010s.
"I always bug [director Jon M. Chu] about it and he tells him the same thing every time: They're trying to figure out the writing," Golding explained in an interview with E! Online earlier this year. "I know they're working on it, but hopefully sooner than later."
What do you think of Crazy Rich Asians getting a spinoff? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
h/t: Deadline