2 More ‘After’ Movies Are Coming, But Hero Fiennes-Tiffin & Josephine Langford Won’t Be In Them
It’s official, you guys — the After universe is expanding even more! Yep, it was just announced that the beloved
Lillie Gissen
It’s official, you guys — the After universe is expanding even more! Yep, it was just announced that the beloved series is getting two more movies — a prequel and a next-generation sequel — on top of the two that are already in the works, and we are seriously freaking out about the news! But unfortunately, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (who plays Hardin Scott in the movies) and Josephine Langford (who we all know as Tessa Young) will not be reprising their roles for the newly announced films. Here’s everything you need to know…
How Many Movies Are There So Far In The ‘After’ Series?
As fans know, the After movies are based off of a widely popular One Direction fan fiction written by Anna Todd. The story started off on Wattpad, but after getting millions of views, it was published into a five-part book series, and later turned into a film series. The first movie (After) came out on April 8, 2019, and it quickly took the world by storm. Then, the second one (After We Collided) premiered on October 23, 2020, and it was everything we ever wanted. Now, the third flick (After We Fell) is set to come out sometime in 2021 (they haven’t shared the release date for it just yet), and the fourth (After Ever Happy) recently wrapped production. And now, news has hit the web that the story won’t be ending after the fourth flick.
“The After universe just keeps expanding,” director Castille Landon told Teen Vogue in a recent interview. “The fandom, and how excited they are and their input, it really does inspire us all as creators every single day.”
What Do We Know About The Fifth And Sixth Movie?
One of the movies will be a prequel — focusing on Hardin’s life as a kid, long before he met Tessa. While the other movie will take place years after the fourth flick, and will follow Hardin and Tessa’s children — Emery and Auden — as well as their cousin Addy.
“[Hardin’s] gone through a lot of trauma in his family life and in his relationships, and [we’ll] see more of that messiness before he meets Tessa, and how that experience changes him,” Landon said of the prequel movie.
As fans know, the final book of the series ends by briefly discussing #Hessa’s kids, and the director is super excited about bringing their story to life.
“Emery, Auden and Addy are quite beloved by the fans. We’ve all gotten a lot of inquiries about what happens with the kids,” she explained. “It’s really amazing actually to see how interested the fanbase is in those characters, even though they are really only superficially introduced in the books. People have latched onto them because of their love for Hardin and Tessa.”
And don’t worry, people, because Landon promised that the new movies will “stay truthful” to what has been established in the franchise. She added, “We kind of carry the sins of our parents forward with us, so while they’re trying to break out of that, I think carrying that forward for the kids is really important. [We’re] exploring a lot of the same themes, love and loss and messy relationships. We’ve all been there, and those are universal themes. Making sure these characters are dynamic and not pulling punches is really important, just as it’s important with Hardin and Tessa. And exploring young love without judging it.”
Landon also revealed that she wants her own experiences to contribute a lot to the films.
“For me what was really important is getting Tessa’s experience right, from the perspective of a young woman,” she told the outlet. “I’m not too far removed from that kind of world myself, and I really related to her. Being able to convey that cinematically was important to me, in a way that didn’t feel gratuitous but also felt very very real-world and not glossing over the messiness of what it is to be a young woman in love with — for lack of a better term — a bad boy.”
Since the prequel will show Hardin when he was younger and the next-generation sequel will show him and Tessa as adults, Fiennes-Tiffin and Langford won’t be in the movies. So when can you expect them to come out, you ask? Well, Teen Vogue has reported that there’s unfortunately no release date (or casting info) just yet, but that production is set to begin this fall.
What Do We Know About The Third And Fourth Movies?
Thankfully, since the movies are based off of books, we have an idea of what’s going to go down in the third and fourth flicks. Here’s the official synopsis for the third book:
“Just as Tessa makes the biggest decision of her life, everything changes. Revelations about first her family, and then Hardin’s, throw everything they knew before in doubt and makes their hard-won future together more difficult to claim.
Tessa’s life begins to come unglued. Nothing is what she thought it was. Not her friends. Not her family. The one person she should be able to rely on, Hardin, is furious when he discovers the massive secret she’s been keeping. And rather than being understanding, he turns to sabotage.
Tessa knows Hardin loves her and will do anything to protect her, but there’s a difference between loving someone and being able to have them in your life. This cycle of jealousy, unpredictable anger, and forgiveness is exhausting. She’s never felt so intensely for anyone, so exhilarated by someone’s kiss — but is the irrepressible heat between her and Hardin worth all the drama? Love used to be enough to hold them together. But if Tessa follows her heart now, will it be… the end?”
And here’s what we can expect from the fourth:
“Tessa and Hardin have defied all the odds, but will their fairy tale ending be turned on its head? After Ever Happy… Life will never be the same.
It’s never been all rainbows and sunshine for Tessa and Hardin, but each new challenge they’ve faced has only made their passionate bond stronger and stronger. But when a revelation about the past shakes Hardin’s inpenetrable façade to the core — and then Tessa suffers a tragedy — will they stick together again, or be torn apart?
As the shocking truth about each of their families emerges, it’s clear the two lovers are not so different from each other. Tessa is no longer the sweet, simple, good girl she was when she met Hardin — any more than he is the cruel, moody boy she fell so hard for. Tessa understands all the troubling emotions brewing beneath Hardin’s exterior, and she knows she’s the only one who can calm him when he erupts. He needs her.
But the more layers of his past come to light, the darker he grows, and the harder he pushes Tessa — and everyone else in his life — away. Tessa’s not sure if she really can save him — not without sacrificing herself. She refuses to go down without a fight. But who is she fighting for — Hardin or herself?”
Sounds intense! Fiennes-Tiffen, Langford, Dylan Sprouse, Khadijha Red Thunder, Inanna Sarkis and Pia Mia have all confirmed that they are returning for the third film. But unfortunately, Shane Paul McGhie has announced that he will not reprise his role in the next part of the series.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing I will not be filming in Bulgaria,” the actor, who played Landon, wrote on his Instagram Stories. “We could not come to an agreement and I had to make a really tough call. I had to stand up for me, the way that Landon would. I am so grateful to you all for welcoming me into the After family and for supporting me along this incredible journey. I have felt your love from around the world and that has been the biggest blessing and honor. I have seen how, for a lot of you, After has changed your lives and been a light during dark times.”
Instead, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina star Chance Perdomo will be taking over the role as Landon. Stephen Moyer (who previously acted in True Blood, The Gifted and more) and Mira Sorvino (who fans may recognize from Mighty Aphrodite) have also been added to the cast. Moyer is going to play Christian Vance, replacing Charlie Weber, while Sorvino is going to replace Selma Blair as Carol. Plus, John Tucker Must Die alum Arielle Kebbel has also joined the cast as Kimberly (taking over for Candice King), Men or Mice actress Frances Turner will now play Karen instead of Karimah Westbrook, Trinkets star Kiana Maderia is going to play a new character named Nora and Famous in Love actor Carter Jenkins is set to star as another new character named Robert. We can’t wait to see what goes down!