Jon M. Chu Juggles Projects Including Crazy Rich Asians Sequel

Los Angeles, CA – Director Jon M. Chu is keeping busy with several major projects, including the highly anticipated film, Wicked: For Good, scheduled for release later this year. Chu is also attached to a variety of upcoming projects, such as a Britney Spears biopic featuring Sydney Sweeney, an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, and Hot Wheels.

Amidst these developments, Chu is also progressing on the sequel to Crazy Rich Asians, a 2018 film that significantly impacted Hollywood by expanding Asian representation on screen. The film earned over $200 million at the box office from a $30 million budget. However, production delays have plagued the sequel.

Seven years later, HBO is now reimagining the next installment as a TV series. “It’s a real thing,” Chu told Esquire about his upcoming projects. “We have scripts, and we’re waiting to be officially ready to go.” The HBO series is expected to draw inspiration from the second book in Kevin Kwan’s trilogy, China Rich Girlfriend, followed by adapting the third book, Rich People Problems.

Initially, the two sequels were intended to be filmed back-to-back as part of a trilogy in 2020, but plans have since shifted to a series format. The production has seen its share of challenges, including a change in screenwriters. Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli were replaced due to pay disputes, but as reported in February, Lim is set to return as the official showrunner.

Chu acknowledged the difficulties in adapting the sequels, stating, “It’s hard to do the continuation of the books, because our characters changed so much in the first movie. It’s so different [from] the books, actually, even though it feels like it’s the same. So you couldn’t go one-to-one. But we can use a lot of inspiration from the book to dig out more story from it.”

The cast of the original Crazy Rich Asians film included Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Ronny Chieng, Jimmy O. Yang, and Ken Jeong. While no official announcements have been made regarding the cast’s return for the series, Chu expressed confidence, stating, “our cast will be there.”