Henry Golding revealed he has reconnected with several of his “Crazy Rich Asians” collaborators as the hit film, based on author Kevin Kwan’s book trilogy, gets a future on the little screen.
Golding, who starred as affluent heartthrob Nick Young in the 2018 film, told the “Today” show on Wednesday that he recently reunited with co-stars Awkwafina and Gemma Chan, on separate occasions, and discussed the series currently in development at Max. “Everyone is excited,” he said.
The “Snake Eyes” and “Another Simple Favor” actor said he met up with Awkwafina “the other night” and “not too long ago” reconnected with Chan and “Crazy Rich Asians” co-writer Adele Lim in London “to sort of discuss where we’re heading.”
“Crazy Rich Asians,” directed by Jon M. Chu and co-written by Lim and Peter Chiarelli, touted an all-Asian cast and was a watershed moment for underrepresented voices in Hollywood. The film made nearly $240 million worldwide on a budget of $30 million and paved the way for a sequel based off Kwan’s second book, “China Rich Girlfriend.”
In 2019, news broke that the “Crazy Rich Asians” sequel hit a significant roadblock as Lim exited the project over pay disparity. The status of the second film has been unclear since then, but it seems Lim will give “Crazy Rich Asians” another go. Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of both Max and Warner Bros. Pictures, which distributed the first film.
Lim is set to executive produce, write and serve as showrunner on the Warner Bros. Television project. Kwan and Chu (via his Electric Somewhere production banner) will both return as executive producers. Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson will also executive produce. It’s unclear where exactly the series will pick up, but it will be based off Kwan’s books.
The series is in early development with no casting deals in place, but Lim is keen on having original cast members return for the show, The Times has learned. In his “Today” interview, Golding did not confirm whether he was officially on board but said “we have so much runway to really share the world” of the “Crazy Rich Asians” franchise.
“I think we’re really excited to show more,” he said.