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‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Co-Writer Adele Lim Departs Sequels Over Pay Disparity

Dave McNary and Matt Donnelly
Updated

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Adele Lim, who co-wrote the “Crazy Rich Asians” screenplay, has exited the planned sequels due to a dispute over pay disparity.

A representative for Lim confirmed her departure from the Warner Bros. projects. The rep declined to comment further. Warner Bros. did not respond to a request for comment.

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“Crazy Rich Asians,” based on the 2013 novel by Kevin Kwan, follows a young Asian American woman who meets her boyfriend’s parents — and discovers they’re one of the richest families in Singapore. Constance Wu played the lead with Henry Golding as her fiancé and Michelle Yeoh as her future mother-in-law.

John M. Chu directed from the script co-written by Lim and Peter Chiarelli. The romantic comedy was a surprise hit with $238 million in worldwide box office.

Warner Bros. had announced shortly after the film opened that it would develop the next two books in Kwan’s trilogy — 2015’s “China Rich Girlfriend” and 2017’s “Rich People Problems.” Chu and Chiarelli remain on board to develop the sequels along with Color Force’s Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. The studio has not set any release dates for the sequels.

Lim is also working for Disney on the animated movie “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which is set for a Nov. 25, 2020 release. The title character, voiced by Cassie Steele, goes on a quest to find the last dragon, voiced by Awkwafina.

Disney unveiled “Raya” on Aug. 24 at its D23 Expo, where Variety asked Lim on the red carpet about the “Crazy Rich Asians” sequels. She was vague about those projects, other than saying, “You’ll have to ask someone of a higher pay grade.”

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