Warner Bros. Pictures has greenlit a spinoff of Crazy Rich Asians, which will focus on the growing romance between Astrid Young and Charlie Wu, who were played by Gemma Chan and Harry Shum Jr. in the original movie. Emmy Award-nominated Barry producer and scribe, Jason Kim is set to write the spin-off’, Deadline is reporting.
Kim pitched the idea for the upcoming film, and Warner Bros. liked his idea for the story. The project and its script are currently in early development.
While the studio has greenlit the spin-off, Crazy Rich Asians‘ official sequel also remains in development, and is being penned by Amy Wang. Both the spin-off and follow-up will be based on China Rich Girlfriend, the second book in writer Kevin Kwan’s literary trilogy the first movie is based on.
The novel not only chronicles Astrid and Charlie’s rekindled relationship, but it also follows the newly engaged Rachel and Nick as they embark on a trip to Shanghai to find the former’s birth father. Constance Wu and Henry Golding played Rachel and Nick in Crazy Rich Asians.
Astrid is the newly single cousin of Nick, and in the book series, Charlie is her first love. Astrid and Charlie were previously engaged, but her parents broke them up, as they didn’t see him as a suitable husband for their daughter.
In the Crazy Rich Asians film adaptation, which was directed by Jon M. Chu, Astrid learns that her husband, Michael (Pierre Png), has been seeing a mistress. So she reconnects with Charlie after they run into each other at Nick and Rachel’s engagement party.
Crazy Rich Asians is notable for being the first Hollywood studio movie since 1993’s The Joy Luck Club to star an all-Westernized Asian ensemble cast. The former was a box office success when it was released in theaters in August 2018, having earned $35.2 million over its five-days opening day weekend. It went on to garner $174.5 million in the U.S., and $238.5 million worldwide, during its theatrical run, off of a $30 million budget.
In early 2019, the romantic comedy-drama went on to receive a feature cast ensemble nomination from SAG and won Best Comedy at the Critics Choice Awards. At the Golden Globe Awards, it was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for Wu.
Like the original movie, Chu, Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, and SK Global’s John Penotti will produce the spin-off.
In addition to China Rich Girlfriend, Warner Bros. has the option for Kwan’s third Crazy Rich Asians novel, Rich People Problems, which was released in 2017.