'Crazy Rich Asians' Sequel Under Way With New Writer
Like the original film, the sequel will also be based on a book by Singapore-born American writer Kevin Kwan
Four years after the runaway success of the Crazy Rich Asians movie in 2018, a sequel is under way with a new writer, Amy Wang, after the original writers left after a pay dispute.
According to entertainment website Deadline, Wang, who is Chinese-Australian, will be the sole writer for the sequel directed by Jon M. Chu, who had helmed the first movie.
Like the original film, the sequel will also be based on a book by Singapore-born American writer Kevin Kwan, who wrote the best-selling trilogy Crazy Rich Asians (2013), China Rich Girlfriend (2015) and Rich People Problems (2017).
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Photo: Warner Bros.
Henry Golding
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Lead actors Henry Golding and Constance Wu are set to reprise their roles in the sequel, although the plot details are still under wraps.
Based on the success of the first film, which grossed more than US$238 million (S$323 million) worldwide to become the most commercially successful romantic comedy of the 2010s, a third film is also in the works.
Wang worked on Netflix shows From Scratch (2022) and The Brothers Sun, which will begin filming in May, and had won a Cannes Lion award for her short Unnatural in 2018.
Her appointment as writer comes after a pay disparity came to light between the two original writers, Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli.
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Chiarelli was paid 10 times more than Lim, leading Lim to walk away from the two planned sequels in 2019.
Earlier this month, Golding spoke to E! News about the highly anticipated sequel.
"I always bug (Chu) about it and he tells him the same thing every time: 'They're trying to figure out the writing,'" Golding said. "I know they're working on it, but hopefully sooner than later."
While it has not been confirmed that Singapore will be used as a filming location again, Golding added that he "can't wait to get back to Singapore".
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This article originally appeared in The Straits Times