After Movie Franchise Expanding With 2 Spinoffs: Hardin Prequel & Next-Gen Sequel

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In a surprise bit of news, the After franchise is expanding with two more films: A prequel, and a next-generation sequel. The new adult romance franchise began in 2019 with After, the feature film adaptation of Anna Todd's best-selling novel. Todd's story began as One Direction fan fiction posted to Wattpad before being altered for publication and now tells the tumultuous love story of good girl Tessa Young (Josephine Langford) and bad boy Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). The second film, After We Collided, rolled out last year. Though not a critical hit, the films have found an audience among fans of Todd's books.

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As there are two more novels in the central After series, it isn't much of a surprise that both would turn into movies. After We Fell and After Ever Happy have yet to score official release dates, though the former is expected to premiere sometime this year. Langford and Fiennes Tiffin revealed in a social media video late last year that After 3 & 4, which filmed back to back, had wrapped production. At the time, it looked like those installments would be the end of the After franchise, but that is no longer the case.

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As revealed by Teen Vogue, the After franchise is set to live on beyond its fourth installment with at least two more movies. Castille Landon, who directed both After We Fell and After Ever Happy, will write and direct both of the new additions. The first, a prequel, is loosely based on Todd's Before, which is a novel told from Hardin's perspective. According to Landon, the film version will be a "larger conversation" tied into Before and will receive a more expanded plot diving into Hardin's trauma and family life before he met Tessa. Fiennes Tiffin will not play Hardin for the film, since it will center on a younger version of the character.

The next-generation spin-off will focus on Tessa and Hardin's children, who were mentioned in the final pages of After Ever Happy. Emery and Auden, as well as their cousin Addy, will be the focus of the new movie, though Tessa and Hardin remain supporting characters (Langford and Fiennes Tiffin will not return, however). Landon acknowledged there not being as much source material for this project, but promises it will "stay truthful" to the franchise. Neither of these additional After movies have casting news or release dates, but they're expected to film back to back this fall.

The After franchise has proven itself to be a profitable series with a dedicated fanbase, so its expansion makes some sense. Though it will be pushing itself pass Todd's source material, it's fair to say fans of Hardin and Tessa's story will be thrilled to learn more about their life together and their children, as well as Hardin's backstory. Still, there are two more main After movies to get through, so it will be a while longer before it's time to dig into these surprise projects.