Warning: To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You spoilers ahead.
The final installment in Lara Jean Covey's story will hit Netflix just in time for Valentine's Day. Netflix unveiled
the first trailer for To All The Boys: Always and Forever and confirmed that the movie will drop on Feb. 12, 2021.
This will be the follow-up to both 2018's To All The Boys I've Loved Before and 2020's sequel To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, which introduced us to Jordan Fisher's swoonworthy John Ambrose McClaren and the concept of #pensivebaking. From the looks of the third film's first trailer, things are taking a more dramatic turn with graduation on the horizon.
The internet's obsession with Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) and Lara Jean (Lana Condor) knows no bounds, so of coursethe third book in Jenny Han's blockbuster trilogy is getting a big screen adaptation. Below, everything you need to know about To All The Boys: Always and Forever, from its new setting to the question of John Ambrose's return.
A third movie has been confirmed and has a first trailer!
No need for speculation. Centineo and Condor teased fans in August 2019 with an on-set Instagram Story video from To All the Boys: Always and Forever's set.
Lana Condor and Noah Centineo announcing To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before 2’s release date and that the third #TATBILB is happening is the cutest thing (via Lana’s IG Stories) pic.twitter.com/bck6sdETgb
— Alyssa Bailey (@alyssabailey) August 15, 2019
Shortly after, Netflix made the news official with an Instagram video involving Condor, Centineo, and Fisher, confirming that production on Always and Forever, Lara Jean was well underway.
The film's first trailer teases several major milestones for Lara Jean and Peter, including promposals, graduation, and decisions regarding a long-distance relationship. "The world keeps shifting under my feet," Lara Jean says at one point. "All I want is for it to stand still." But between the Covey's family trip to Korea and Lara Jean's own New York City adventure, she may not get her wish.
At the end of September 2019, Condor shared an IG post to celebrate the end of filming the trilogy. "I’ve been really struggling how to put into words my feelings towards this ending…words will never be able to describe my love for Lara Jean," Condor captioned a photo of herself on set in Lara Jean's bedroom. "Her family, her friends, Peter. Words will never be able to describe the long nights on set, where it would suddenly hit me, like a ton of bricks, that I was getting the honor of portraying a girl so fiercely determined in love, who represents strength in softness. Words will never be able to describe my gratitude to YOU, for loving her as much as I do."
Condor confirmed during an Entertainment Tonight interview that the cast reunited in early 2020 for reshoots on the movie in Canada.
Most of the original cast will return.
Most of your TATBILB favorites will return for the third movie, including Condor, Centineo, Madeline Arthur as Christine, and Ross Butler as Trevor. John Corbett, who plays Lara Jean's father, and Sarayu Blue, who plays Trina, his new love interest in the second film, will also return. They'll be joined by Anna Cathcart as Kitty Covey and Janel Parrish as Margot Covey, Lara Jean's younger and older sister, respectively.
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Parrish teased the plot of the third movie. "One of my favorite parts of the third film is watching this budding relationship with our dad and his new lovely, beautiful, sexy woman," she said. "There's definitely some mixed reactions with the girls and there may be some friction in the beginning." Blue confirmed, "There's a little bit of conflict in the best way."
Parrish's Margot only made a small appearance in the sequel, but she told ET she has a bigger role in Always and Forever. "You get to see a lot of family time in the third movie, which I love. I think it's one of my favorite parts of the film, is the bond between the sisters, because I'm so close with mine and my family."
Director Michael Fimognari is back for the third movie, while Katie Lovejoy takes over as the project's new screenwriter. It remains to be seen whether standout sequel character Stormy, played by Holland Taylor, will make another appearance.
It's unclear whether Jordan Fisher will be back as John Ambrose.
Although he won over fans with his gorgeous piano solos and nostalgic childhood flashbacks, John Ambrose McClaren is not guaranteed to return. As readers of the third book know, the character doesn't play a sizable role in the next installment, and the end of P.S. I Still Love You sees Lara Jean choose Peter in their twisty love triangle.
But when ET asked if Fisher would return to the franchise, Condor teased, "I think there's always room for Jordan Fisher." Fisher added, "Possibly. I mean, we'll have to see. Filming for the third film has already taken place and I, Jordan Fisher, cannot confirm John Ambrose's involvement in the third film."
Peter and Lara Jean are headed to college.
The third movie will follow Lara Jean and Peter during their senior year of high school. This also means that balancing a relationship with post-high school plans will factor into the next film. In the book, Lara Jean envisions herself attending University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while Peter gets a lacrosse scholarship to the University of Virginia.
"A lot of the third movie is based around college," Condor confirmed to Entertainment Tonight, referring to it as "definitely the most mature movie" in the TATB franchise. "We tackle more real life because there's really no distractions. It's just him and I, and [we] figure it out."
Han added, "The third movie really explores what happens when you're in a relationship and then you have all the real-life stuff that comes into play," adding that, "fans should always be worried" about Lara Jean and Peter. "If I'm doing my job right, you're worried."
Condor hinted at a more independent Lara Jean in the third film, telling ET, "I think she really starts to make decisions for herself that might be unpopular, but I think at the end of the day, as a young woman, you have to protect your own heart and make the decisions that are truly right for you, regardless of the other people around you." She added, "Lara Jean loves love and she loves the guys, but at the end of the day, I know that she's good on her own as well. We'll see. It's very satisfying, like, 'Yes, girl! Get your life!'"
As for Centineo, he told the outlet: "Y'all ain't ready for the third movie, that's all I can say. I haven't seen it cover to cover but the storyline is one of my favorites of the three [movies]."
A promposal takes place (!!).
In June, Condor and Centineo reprised their roles as Peter and Lara Jean for a Zoom benefit that supported organizations fighting racism, including Black Lives Matter, Know Your Rights Camp, Color of Change, and more. The livestream included a sneak peek reading of a scene from the third movie. In the exchange, Lara Jean and Peter head to their favorite diner for some blueberry pancakes. While Lara Jean tells Peter, "There's something that I need to tell you," he interrupts her and instead asks Lara Jean to prom.
She says yes, but everyone can tell this couple may not be on the same page. "There’s some discord. I don’t really know if Peter is picking up what Lara Jean is putting down," Condor observed after the reading. You can watch the scene below, at the 53:00 mark.
The Coveys travel to Korea.
In the book, the three Covey sisters travel to Korea to visit their grandmother (whose casting has not yet been announced) and learn more about their late mother's side of the family.
Last year, Han told a touching story about Parasite director Bong Joon-ho's son, revealing in the thread that she had been with the crew while they filmed in Korea.
"We spent a lot of time in Korea shooting…We were there for so long, I hope that they just show a lot of Korea," Condor explained to ET. "And ultimately, I want to celebrate the culture, so I think it's really important that we keep as much of Korea in the movie as possible."
Dr. Covey's new girlfriend will also be making the trip, as Blue told the outlet, "The food, the stories and there's a scene that's just so gorgeous—a real beautiful way to honor the movie."
Condor feels the third movie gives the franchise a "proper ending."
Condor assured viewers in an interview with ET that "we ended on a really, really good note."She continued,"I'm forever grateful for the character and I'm really excited for people to see the third movie because I think the third one is my favorite movie out of the three."
The actress also confirmed that To All The Boys: Always and Forever includes "a lot of personal growth from Lara Jean." Condor added, "Our movies are romantic comedies, so they are a lot about the guys, but I do believe that the third movie is truly about Lara Jean. It's not about, oh, is she gonna pick a guy and all the love triangles all these things, which are great. But I think we also need to focus on who she is as a young woman and what she's gonna do with her future. She's going off to college and everything, so it does feel like a proper ending."
So, a fourth movie seems unlikely.
As evidenced by Condor's comments, the films probably won't extend beyond their three-book source material. During a 2018 interview with Book Riot, Han confirmed, "It’s a trilogy. I think this is where I leave Lara Jean. In my mind, these characters are still out there doing their thing, but I’m no longer there to watch it happen. I don’t think it’s the end of her story. I just think it’s the end of me being there for it."
She also declined to speculate about where the characters end up outside her novels. "People ask, 'Well, what’s going on? Did she stay with Peter? Did they break up? Did she end up transferring schools?' And I think people’s own imaginations are just as important."
However, in a recent interview with ET, Han admitted closing the chapter on the movies was an emotional experience. "I teared up too, and I was there," she said, adding that the next film felt like a "completion" of Lara Jean's "coming-of-age story." "I think it's got all the beauty and pain of growing up and all those milestones we get to see happen in the third movie."
To All the Boys: Always and Forever will be released in February 2021.
The official release date for the film is just before Valentine's Day, on Feb. 12, 2021. That places it about a year after the sequel. Until then, infer what you will about the official description for the film:
As Lara Jean Covey prepares for the end of high school and the start of adulthood, a pair of life-changing trips lead her to reimagine what life with her family, friends, and Peter will look like after graduation.