Sanja Bucko/Warner Bros.

As the first studio movie starring an Asian and Asian-American cast in a contemporary setting to be released in 25 years, Crazy Rich Asians will be, for some of a certain generation, the first time they see stars of Asian descent in a studio movie on the big screen.

The Warner Bros. film, which opened Aug. 15, centers on couple Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and Nick Young (Henry Golding), who travel from New York to Nick's family home in Singapore. There, Rachel discovers that Nick is from an extremely wealthy family, with whom she tries to gain acceptance, including his tough mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh). The film, helmed by Jon M. Chu, co-stars Awkwafina, Gemma Chan, Ken Jeong, Nico Santos, Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng.

The romantic comedy's release comes at a time when there's an increasing demand for more diverse stories to be seen on the big screen. “I’ve been waiting and waiting [for a movie like this],” says Yeoh. “I wish for personal reasons that it happened when I first started my career. But the important thing is it’s happening now.”

Ahead of the film's release, the cast spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about representation, and the first time they saw someone who looked like them onscreen.