“I was discovered, and I got very lucky. And when you win the lottery, you think you actually don’t know how you got there,” Chu said
Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Jon M. Chu revealed he once doubted himself and thought he didn’t deserve to be in Hollywood
- His film, Crazy Rich Asians, became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the 2010s, earning $239 million
- Chu is next set to direct a Britney Spears biopic, a live-action Hot Wheels movie and an animated Dr. Seuss adaptation
Jon M. Chu, the directorial force behind some of Hollywood's biggest movies over the past decade, recently admitted there was a time when he was struggling to find his footing in the industry.
Chu, 46, recalled that time in his career while discussing how he chooses film projects during the Canva Create 2026’s Building Worlds: From Script to Spectacle panel at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 16.
"And it either sparks me or not, or I have to go on some journey to find if I connect with it. Other times I'm like, 'I have to tell this story,' " the Wicked director said about how imagination guides him.
"That's how I start. Because without that, I can't tell you what colors. I can't tell you what we should build for and it doesn't mean anything to me," Chu continued.
Credit: Michael Tran/FilmMagic
He also pointed out that "every project's different" and "I remember in what I realized, as I had done this over and over again, you are so conscious of … doing it because you're not like the greats, but the greats are the ones that inspired you. You want to be like that so badly you don't have quite the language or the tools or the ability of the craftsmanship yet, how to express that."
He asks himself "Why am I the person to tell the story?" typically at the start of his creative process. However, sometimes he hasn't felt sure that he "deserved" to be the person doing so.
"When you said my list of movies, it lit up and you said Crazy Rich Asians. That was a big point in my life. I didn't think I deserved to be in Hollywood," he said. "I was discovered and I got very lucky. And when you win the lottery, you think you actually don't know how you got there. So you actually can't win the lottery again."
Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty
Chu added, "I had to learn how to win in a different way or how to tell my story. … As I go through my career, that moment, choosing to do something that only I could tell was a scary … I was like, 'No one's going to see this movie.' I actually told my team, I was like, 'I'm going to make a movie. I'm going to take five years and I'm not going to make you any money.' Luckily they were fine with it."
Since his team "believed" in both him and "this Asian culture, diaspora from all around the world," Chu trusted himself and "knew that audience, whether you were Asian or not, would fall in love with the things that I fall in love with my family, the meals that we eat, the conversations we had, we could make fun of ourselves and how we are, and we had all walks of life in there."
Credit: Sanja Bucko/Warner Bros.
Crazy Rich Asians, after it premiered in theaters in 2018, made $239 million worldwide on a $30 million budget, per Box Office Mojo. The film starred Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Michelle Yeoh and Ken Jeong.
From there, Chu went on to direct 2021's In the Heights, 2024's Wicked and 2025's Wicked: For Good. The first Wicked movie was nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars.
As for what's next for the acclaimed director, Chu signed a multiyear film and TV deal with Paramount Skydance in December.
He has also been attached to direct a Britney Spears biopic for Universal, a live-action Hot Wheels movie and an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You'll Go. Ariana Grande and Josh Gad have been linked to voice in the latter animated film, according to Variety.
"Never been more excited to go places. We are dreaming up something very very special for you," Gad, 45, shared in an Instagram post in July. "Warner Brothers Animation has put together a truly all-star team. I've been dying to work with Ariana, Jon, Jill, JJ, Gregg Taylor, Bill Damaschke, and Pasek and Paul for ages."
"🧚🏻 Oh, the Places You'll Go ! 💭" Grande, 32, captioned her Instagram post.
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The film is slated for a 2028 release, and will be Chu's first foray into directing animation.
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