One of the most moving moments featured in the film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s bestselling book Crazy Rich Asians is the all-important wedding scene between Colin Khoo and Araminta Lee. And on Wednesday, August 22, it was announced that there will be more of that since director Jon M. Chu is developing the film’s sequel, China Rich Girlfriend, alongside the original production team and screenwriters.
Theatergoers were treated to Kina Grannis’ gorgeous cover of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” against the elaborate greenhouse-inspired interior of the historic CHIJMES church in Singapore. The love between Colin (Chris Pang) and Araminta (Sonoya Mizuno), while certainly felt, was secondary to the emotional exchange between main characters Nick Young (Henry Golding) and Rachel Chu (Constance Wu).
“I was influenced by royal weddings, wedding designs,” Kwan previously told The Knot in an exclusive interview. “Seeing how people make weddings really truly special was what I wanted to put in this scene. It’s a modern spectacle. I want more and more wedding scenes for the movie and for the books.”
Araminta Lee played by Sonoya Mizuno walks down the aisle in ‘Crazy Rich Asians.’ (Credit: Warner Bros.)
(Credit: Warner Bros.)
The first film ended on a triumphant note after Rachel’s tumultuous trip to Singapore with her mysterious boyfriend Nick. The Chinese-American NYU economics professor discovers that her boyfriend comes from a fabulously wealthy, old established Singaporean family, so exclusive that their presence is concealed by the mainstream media. Rachel herself is not exactly, from a materialistic standpoint, the strongest fit for a man who’s dubbed the “Prince William of Asia.”
She tackles everything from a vicious bullying attempt during a bachelorette party-gone-wrong, as well as a crazy rich show-down with Nick’s protective mother, Eleanor Young. The film deviates ever-so-slightly from the book itself, and ends with Nick proposing on a plane. However, it isn’t revealed that he proposes—in the most fabulous manner during a luxurious getaway to France—until the second novel, China Rich Girlfriend.
The next installment partially focuses on Nick’s relationship with Rachel, starting with the pair wedding planning in the States. Nick has since been shunned by his grandmother, and he’s grown estranged from his mother after her decision to hire a private investigator to look into Rachel’s past.
(Credit: Warner Bros.)
(Credit: Warner Bros.)
The scion and Rachel are planning an intimate wedding in California, which is ultimately approved by Eleanor and Nick’s father Philip Young for rather suspicious reasons. More about Rachel’s father is revealed in the second installment of the series, which prompts the couple to fly off to China to dig into her past. All this and more, particularly Astrid Leong (Gemma Chan)’s relationship with her suddenly-wealthy tech startup husband Michael Teo (Pierre Png) and her friendship with former fiance Charlie Wu (Harry Shum Jr.), are pivotal to the second book itself.
“The idea is to tell the story in the next movie,” Chu told THR of Astrid and Charlie. “I made a promise to Harry, so I’m going to do it.”
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