EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Castille Landon, who is already in post production on the third and fourth After movies, After We Fell and After Ever Happy, will remain aboard as the franchise’s director for a new feature prequel and sequel, but will also take on writing the fresh installments as well.
The After movies, based on the Anna Todd YA novel series, follow the loves and tribulations of Tessa (Josephine Langford) and Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin).
The prequel will center on a teenage Hardin, who is navigating his first love. The events that take place in these formative years shape the bedrock of the troubled but passionate Hardin we meet in the current After films.
The sequel will center on the next generation in the After universe – Tessa and Hardin’s kids Emery, Auden, and their cousin Addy navigate the turbulent waters of growing up and trying not to make the mistakes of their parents did many years ago. Both movies will shoot back to back this fall. The After-franchise production team of Jennifer Gibgot (17 Again, Step Up), Brian Pitt, Wattpad’s Aron Levitz, CalMaple’s Mark Canton (Den of Thieves, 300) and Courtney Solomon (Cake, An American Haunting) are returning to produce the new films.
The first After movie was directed by Jenny Gage. The second title After We Collided was helmed by Cruel Intentions’ Roger Kumble. Landon took over the franchise back in September with After We Fell and After Ever Happy
“Seeing After We Fell and After Ever Happy come together in the edit has inspired us to continue expanding the universe, exploring the origins of the characters we already know and love and giving life to the next generation. I’m excited to have the opportunity to broaden the relatable themes already established in the series and introduce Hardin and Tessa’s teenage children to a modern landscape,” said Landon.
The After producers added, “We are having so much fun with the After franchise and its wonderful fandom which is the most engaged, and active bar none. Their engagement level is off the charts. We owe it to them to continue telling great stories around these relatable, empowered and accessible characters and give this underserved audience films that talk to them and reflect their own experiences. Castille relates so brilliantly to the After universe and has become one of the custodians of the franchise. We are thrilled to continue the journey and hope the fans will be as thrilled as we are.”
The first movie, After, opened No. 1 in 17 countries in the spring of 2019 and grossed $9.9M in France, $9.3M in Germany and $7.1M in Italy. Other high performing territories include Russia, which took of $3.2M, Benelux which took over $3.5M and Scandinavia which took over $3M. All in the, movie made $70M WW off a $14M production cost.
After We Collided cleared $50M WW during the pandemic box office. The sequel outperformed the first film in a range of major territories, including Germany, Australia, Norway, Austria and Eastern Europe.
After We Fell, the third installment, is set to be released worldwide in 2021.
After first found success on the independent digital publishing website Wattpad, a global entertainment company and world’s leading social storytelling platform, where the original story accumulated more than 1.5 billion reads, before becoming an international best-selling book.
Landon is repped by Zero Gravity Management.
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