Crazy Rich Asians came out in 2018, and it's one of the best romantic comedy movies around. And of course, it's filled with drama as well. It was an instant hit, and it's such a joy to rewatch it even to this day. It also had a wonderful cast like Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Constance Wu, and Henry Golding. Now, the story is coming back. But, it's not in the way we thought it would. And I don't know how to feel about it.
Crazy Rich Asians series in the works at Max
According to Variety, a Crazy Rich Asians television series is currently in development at streaming service, Max. Warner Bros. Pictures, who owns the streamer, is the one behind the film so this makes sense. One of the great things about the movie is the fact that the story was written so well, and that's thanks in part to co-writer Adele Lim.
Well, she's on board to serve as showrunner and executive producer on the new show. The director of the film, Jon M. Chu, will also be an executive producer on the upcoming project, the news outlet reports. The author of the books the tale is based on, Kevin Kwan, served as an EP on the film and will take on the same role for the television series as well. Though when it comes to the actors, it's not known yet if any of the original cast will be in the show.
In a time where it truly feels like there aren't any original ideas anymore with reboots, sequels, and many big movies being made into series' like Harry Potter on Max, this one isn't bothering me as much as I thought it would. I do think the Crazy Rich Asians story could lend itself to being told well as a series too, with intriguing characters, interesting conflicts, and enjoyable moments.
Plus with Kwan having also written two other follow-up books, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems, it's possible this could be at least a three season arc if Max adapts each novel into one season. Even if the movie didn't really follow the first novel's plot, maybe the show will be different. Though this news does also comes as a bit of a disappointment for those of us who are fans of the movie.
A Crazy Rich Asians sequel film was promised, especially since the first ended happily but with Rachel and Nick engaged and we want to see their wedding! However there haven't been any positive updates about it. The most recent is Chu speaking with Deadline back in November 2024 that he doesn't want to "bring everyone back unless it’s worth it. There’s too much on the line for everybody.” Here's what else he had to say:
“I want the best thing. I want it to be worthy of what Crazy Rich Asians 1 was. We’ve tried all different versions. It’s hard because people think the first movie is like the book, but it actually is not. It’s the right spirit, but the plotting is very different. And so, you can’t just go and translate. And we’ve tried versions and the fact is, is that we just haven’t gotten there. And there’s no way I’m dragging the audience back. There’s no way the bar is too high. So, in time when we when we get there, we will."
The one thing we can appreciate as viewers at least is that the creative team behind the film don't want to just bring a sequel because the production was such a big hit and resonated with fans. Look, sometimes a movie is best as a standalone. That's what makes it great. However, at least it does sound like they are trying to make something work. But as Chu shares, when you do something so good it's really hard to continue because the bar is set so high.
I will be giving the Crazy Rich Asians series a chance at Max, and I'll keep waiting that hopefully the creative team will figure out how to bring a wonderful story for a potential Crazy Rich Asians 2 movie with the cast that stole our hearts. In the meantime, I guess we can look forward to the show on Max!