Oct
29,
2026
An independent romantic comedy called Crazy Rich Arabs is heading into production in Los Angeles, with Sam Asghari (Hacks) and Omar Sharif Jr. (The Secret Scripture) among the cast, Deadline exclusively reported Tuesday. Filming begins in November.
Crazy Rich Arabs follows Youssef, a sheltered musician from Beirut who travels to Los Angeles for an arranged marriage with a woman named Reema. There he discovers his long-lost identical twin, Omar, a wealthy Hollywood divorce attorney. The brothers decide to switch identities, and romance, family secrets and culture clashes escalate from there, pulling in Omar’s best friend Layla and a charming Airbnb host named Shay.
The cast includes:
- Omar Sharif Jr. (The Secret Scripture) as Shay, the Airbnb host
- Sam Asghari (Hacks)
- Aron Kader (Ramy)
- Walid Chaya (The Blacklist: Redemption) as the twins, Youssef and Omar
- Kourosh Parsapour (In the Garden of Tulips)
- Lara J Barry (Where Murder Lies)
- Sarah Siadat (Veep)
- George Khouri (Funny or Die) as Reema’s protective brother
- Newcomers Sophia Konat as Reema and Maya Tannous as Layla, a Beverly Hills lounge owner
Peter Takla directs from a script by Chaya and Jimmy Monack. Chaya and Sharif Jr. are executive producers, and the film is produced by Chaya’s Moonlit Wings Productions. Rawan Chaya composes the music.
Chaya said the production aims to address the “longstanding underrepresentation of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) characters in Hollywood. He said that growing up he rarely saw people who looked like him on screen, and that the film aims to change that.
Despite the name, the film is unrelated to Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians franchise.
