Photo by Hollywood Pictures – © 1993
The much-anticipated sequel to The Joy Luck Club is moving forward, says Rosalind Chao, who starred in the original 1993 film, playing the role of Rose Hsu Jordan.
Chao was quoted in Deadline this week as saying that she’s planning to meet with other cast members via Zoom to discuss the project.
“There’s a script,” she told reporters. “I cried when I read the script.”
The upcoming sequel is being written by Oscar winner Ron Bass in cooperation with Amy Tan, author of the bestselling novel that inspired the 1993 film directed by Wayne Wang. That movie was acclaimed as a touching multigenerational portrait of four Chinese-born women and their Chinese-American daughters. Joining Chao in the cast were Tsai Chin, Kieu Chinn, Lisa Lu, France Nuyen, Lauren Tom, Tamlyn Tomita, and Ming-Na Wen.
According to the official synopsis for the sequel now in development, “the mothers become grandmothers and the daughters become mothers in their own right, introducing a new generation exploring their own relationships with culture, heritage, love, womanhood, and identity.”
With Oliver Stone as executive producer of the 1993 film, The Joy Luck Club was released by Disney Touchstone and grossed nearly $33 million domestically. It is regarded as a harbinger of other popular films with Asian casts and themes, including Crazy Rich Asians and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The 66-year old Chao starred recently on the Netflix series 3 Body Problem, playing the role of Ye Wenjie. Chao came to prominence in the 1980s when she played the role of Soon-Lee Klinger in AfterMASH on CBS. Other of her notable roles include Keiko O’Brien on some of the Star Trek films in the 1980s, and the role of Dr. Kim on The O.C. In 2020, she appeared in the live-action remake of Mulan, playing the title character’s mother. Chao’s next project will be as the star of Nisha Ganatra’s Freakier Friday.
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