The 'After' Movies Are Getting A Prequel About Hardin & A Sequel About His Kids
The After universe is getting even bigger. Based on Anna Todd's book series of the same name, the hit YA franchise follows the passionate, tumultuous relationship between Tessa Young (Josephine Langford) and Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). Fans can already look forward to the upcoming third and fourth movies, After We Fell (which is set to hit theateres in October 2021) and After Ever Happy (coming later down the road). Now, you can now look forward to even more romantic content: An After prequel about Hardin and a sequel about his kids are on the way.
To recap: After famously started off as One Direction fan fiction written by Todd, with the character of Hardin being based on Harry Styles. Then it became a love story all its own, as Tessa and Hardin embarked on an on-again, off-again relationship over the course of their college years and well into adulthood. Now that the franchise has become a huge hit, the entire four-book series is officially getting the big-screen treatment. But book fans are in for even more surprises, since a prequel and sequel are about to expand the After world in exciting new ways.
The prequel, which will be loosely based on the After prequel book titled Before (duh), will follow a teenage Hardin as he navigates his first love and becomes the brooding yet swoonworthy guy fans met in the first movie. "He'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," director Castille Landon told Teen Vogue. But expect to see a brand-new actor embody the character, because Fiennes Tiffin isn't set to reprise the role since the character will be much younger.
Further, although Tessa and Hardin will find their own happy ending in After Ever Happy, the next After sequel is all about the next generation. The movie will follow the couple's children Emery and Auden as well as their cousin Addy. Although the three young characters were briefly mentioned at the end of the After Ever Happy book, get ready to see their own coming-of-age journeys take center stage. Adult versions of Tessa and Hardin will appear in supporting roles, but won't be played by Langford or Fiennes Tiffin.
Unlike the other five movies, this sequel isn't based on a book. But according to Landon, it will "stay truthful" to the spirit of the series. "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 with the kids is really important," Landon said.
