The “Crazy Rich Asians” star revealed to E! News that a Warner Bros. sequel is still in the works, after being announced in 2018 on the heels of the original’s success. “I always bug [director Jon M. Chu] about it, and he tells him the same thing every time: They’re trying to figure out the writing,” Golding said. “I know they’re working on it, but hopefully sooner than later.” Golding added that with pandemic restrictions lifting worldwide, he “can’t wait to get back to Singapore,” where the first installment was filmed. Chu, who most recently directed the Warner Bros. musical “In the Heights,” is set to return for the sequel, joined by screenwriter Peter Chiarelli. But Chiarelli and Chu will not be joined by “Crazy Rich Asians” co-writer Adele Lim, who exited the sequel in 2019 over pay disputes.
The original 2018 movie grossed nearly $240 million at the global box office. Golding starred as Nick Young, an eligible bachelor whose wealthy family scoffed at fiancé Rachel Chu (Constance Wu).
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Golding previously told IndieWire in 2020 that Chu was “still at that stage with trying to create a viable storyline for the next two movies.”
Golding continued, “Sometimes, it’s really difficult to translate [the original books] onto the big screen, and with the pressure of trying to keep up the same interest we had with the first movie. The bar has already been raised really high.”
Golding, who is British-Malaysian, added to IndieWire that controversy around his casting as a Chinese-Singaporean character in “Crazy Rich Asians” grew “tiresome.”
“I’m never going to play my exact race, 100 percent of the time, ever, unless there’s a half-Malaysian, half-British character, then yeah, OK,” Golding said. “We’re actors, at the end of the day, and bringing a discussion of race into a fictional character…it gets really old.”
Golding added, “I do understand when it comes to having the casting directors… But for me, I will never be your A-plus choice for a Chinese character, or an Indonesian character, or an Asian character. In general, I’m not going to be 100 percent right, but I am sure as hell going to play the hell out of that role.”
Meanwhile, Golding will next be seen in “Persuasion” opposite Dakota Johnson for Netflix’s spin on the classic Jane Austen novel.
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