A sequel to The Joy Luck Club is on the way
Author Amy Tan and the original film's screenwriter Ron Bass will be returning for the project
Nearly 30 years since The Joy Luck Club came out in theaters in 1993 and broke barriers for Asian and Asian-American representation in film, a sequel is reportedly in development from author Amy Tan and Ron Bass, who co-wrote the original movie’s screenplay together.
According to Deadline, much of the original cast, which includes Ming-Na Wen (Agents Of Shield), Lauren Tom (Futurama), Tamlyn Tomita (Cobra Kai), Rosalind Chao (Better Things), Kieu Chinh, Tsai Chin (Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings), Lisa Lu (Crazy Rich Asians), and France Nuyen, are in talks to return for the sequel. A central focus of the new film will be on them and their new generation of children and grandchildren.
Directed by Wayne Wang, The Joy Luck Club follows a group of Chinese-American women and their immigrant mothers, weaving together their stories from past to present day and the complicated relationships they have with each other. Featuring a majority Asian and Asian-American cast, the film’s groundbreaking representation and legacy can be seen in the success of recent films like 2018's Crazy Rich Asians and Marvel superhero flick Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.
For the 25th anniversary of the film, Tamlyn Tomita (who played Waverly in the original film) spoke at Toronto International Film Festival in 2018 about how impactful it was seeing a film focused on Asian and Asian-American women during a time when that kind of representation was hard to come by, especially as Crazy Rich Asians at the time was fueling that same feeling for a new generation of film-goers.
“It harkens back to when a variety of audience members here, we got to see our faces,” said Tomita back in 2018. “For the first freaking time, we’re the lead characters of the story. We’re the only characters in the story. It feels like we belong. We don’t feel other-wised, we don’t feel different. We feel authentic and that we exist.”
For the sequel, Deadline explains that the plot will be “introducing a new generation exploring their own relationships with culture, heritage, love, womanhood and identity.”
Producing the project are Ashok and Priya Amritraj for Hyde Park Entertainment, along with Tan, Bass, and Jeff Kleeman (The Judge).
Winning an Oscar for Best Screenplay from Rain Man, Bass has written films like rom-com classic My Best Friend’s Wedding, Waiting To Exhale (in collaboration with Terry McMillan), and most recently co-write the 2022 Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
After writing The Joy Luck Club in 1989, Tan has gone on to release several other novels such as The Kitchen God’s Wife, The Bonesetter’s Daughter, and The Valley Of Amazement.