Jon M Chu has provided an update on the long awaited sequel to his 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians sequel, but said that he would not bring the cast back unless “it’s worth it”. The first Crazy Rich Asians film , written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, directed by Chu, and based on the 2013 novel of the same title by Kevin Kwan, followed Chinese-American professor Rachel Chu who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick Young and is shocked to discover that his family is one of the richest there. The romantic comedy-drama was lauded for its predominantly Asian cast, with Constance Wu starring as Rachel Chu, Henry Golding as Nick Young, along with Gemma Chan , Lisa Lu, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, and Sonoya Mizuno.
Crazy Rich Asians grossed $239m globally, and opened to mostly favourable reviews. A sequel was announced by Warner Bros Pictures in 2018, with Chiarelli and Lim returning to write the script, based on the book’s sequel, China Rich Girlfriend . Later the same year, it was announced that the third film, based on the final novel in the trilogy, Rich People Problems , would be filmed back-to-back in 2020.
In 2022, Chinese-Australian writer Amy Wang was hired to replace the writers following Lim’s exit from the film in 2019 after it was revealed that Chiarelli was allegedly going to be paid almost 10 times more than her. In a podcast appearance, fresh off the success of recent directorial venture Wicked , Chu provided fans with a disappointing update.