'Crazy Rich Asians' Spin-Off Names Gemma Chan And Harry Shum Jr. As Leads

Popular romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians" is getting a sequel and its own spin-off. While the film's sequel will continue with Rachel (Constance Wu) and Nick Young's (Henry Golding) romance, the spin-off will focus on another swoon-worthy couple. 

Astrid Young Teo, played by Gemma Chan, and Charlie Wu (Harry Shum Jr.) are reportedly the new romantic couple. The duo's reunion was shown during "Crazy Rich Asians" 's middle credits scene," during Rachel and Nick's wedding. This spin-off will shed light on their backstory and future after Astrid's divorce from Michael. 

"Crazy Rich Asians" was released in 2013 and made massive waves at the box office. The film debuted at $35.2 million before reaching $174.4 million in domestic sales, then $238.5 million worldwide. It won Best Comedy at the Critics Choice Awards, a SAG nomination, and a Golden Globe nomination for the Best Comedy/ Musical category. 

"Crazy Rich Asians" Astrid is getting her own spin-off. The other part of the popular romantic comedy is reportedly in early development at Warner Bros. Via Deadline; a new couple will be focused on this time; Astrid Leong Teo and Charlie Wu. 

Astrid played Nick's wealthy cousin, who recently divorced her cheating husband. The character is known for her astounding beauty and impeccable fashion. This new movie will follow her and her new (or old) love interest, Charlie. 

Astrid and Charlie were previously engaged to each other before her first marriage. However, her parents condemned the relationship because Charles wasn't seen as a suitable enough partner for their daughter. 

Warner Bros. apparently agreed to the project after hearing writer Jason Kim's pitch for the couple's story. The spin-off will be based on "China Rich Girlfriend," Kevin Kwan's second book in the series, with Kim as the writer.

Shum Jr. was reportedly supposed to have a much larger role than in the initial movie. In "Crazy Rich Asians," the 40-year-old was introduced in a mid-credits scene. The character reunited with Astrid at her cousin Nick and Rachel's engagement party.

At the time, Astrid had already found out about her husband, Michael's infidelity, and was in the process of leaving him. However, in the original book, Charlie came into the picture much earlier and even helped her discover Michael's adultery. While more scenes of Shum Jr. as Charlie were filmed, they never made it into the movie. 

The director of "Crazy Rich Asians" appeared in a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly and shed some light on why the extra scenes with Charlie were cut out. According to him, if they were left in, it could have painted a picture of Astrid leaving Michael for Charlie instead of for his infidelity. 

Chu explained, "What we put in the movie was great—they actually dance together—and it was so awesome, and Harry's so charming and so lovable. But the problem was, it made Astrid feel like she was leaving Michael for Charlie, and we didn't have enough room to expand on the idea."

Chu added that he wanted the story to center around Astrid herself and not just her looking for love. He continued, "We just had to stay focused. Ultimately it's about her independence, so that scene was in there all the way until the very end. When we took it out, Astrid's journey became stronger. It was about her, not about her finding love." 

Besides Astrid and Charlie's spin-off, the "Crazy Rich Asians" sequel is in production. Like the spin-off, this movie is based on Kwan's second book of the series. Chu will once again direct the film with Amy Wang as the writer. 

The premise will focus on Rachel and Nick and their search for the former's biological father. In a 2019 interview with People, Chan revealed that she was extremely excited to be part of the successful franchise again and wasn't against moving cities to shoot. 

She said, "I can't wait. There's so much amazing material in Kevin's books; they could go any kind of way they want to, really. So yeah, if they want to delve into Astrid's parishes, I'm not averse to shooting in Paris for a bit."