It's time to talk about The Summer I Turned Pretty movie. Fans had been Googling 'will there be a season 4?' in their thousands and last night Jenny Han - author of the original book series and the Prime series' executive producer, creator and co-show runner - went one better. With the tap of a 'post' button, Han sent TSITP devotees into a frenzy by teasing a movie.
In a collaboration post shared with the official The Summer I Turned Pretty account, Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios and leads Lola Tung and Chris Briney, Han (whose finale episode was a masterclass of fashion and beauty symbolism and heart-warming drama) posted a picture of Tung and Briney in front of a sign that read 'The Summer I Turned Pretty The Movie'. 'FREAKING OUT' wrote one fan, 'YESSSSS' wrote another. Over 100,000 people commented in less than 24 hours.
Everything we know about The Summer I Turned Pretty movie so far
When it comes to solid information, the truth is not a lot at this stage. We know that Amazon MGM Studios has greenlit the feature film and the likelihood is that it will land on Amazon Prime (a cinema rollout looks unlikely but nothing's off the cards at this stage). The plot will continue where season 3 left off and provide fans with a solid all-loose-ends-tied-up ending, but as for particulars, they're under wraps.
Will Lola Tung and Chris Briney return for The Summer I Turned Pretty movie?
The announcement came at the series finale celebration in Paris and given both Tung and Briney were tagged (and appeared in) in the Instagram post, their return seems like a sure fire thing. It's unlikely too that the show's creators would be diving into a feature film without securing the cast's other MVPs too. While unconfirmed officially, it looks likely that Gavin Casalengo (Jeremiah Fisher), Rain Spencer (Taylor Jewel), Sean Kaufman (Steven Conklin), Jackie Chung (Laurel Park) and Tom Everett Scott (Adam Fisher) will also return to film The Summer I Turned Pretty movie.
What is the The Summer I Turned Pretty movie release date?
Jenny Han and Amazon MGM Studios have yet to confirm a release date for The Summer I Turned Pretty movie. With hype around the three-season show at an all-time high, you'd expect the creators to want to make the most of the momentum and release the feature film in 2026 - stay tuned for further announcements.
5 The Summer I Turned Pretty movie predictions from someone who's read the books
I read Jenny Han's three The Summer I Turned Pretty books when I was mid-way through season 3. The YA series, which Han wrote in 2010 and 2011 with Taylor Swift's Fearless album playing in the background, sets the Cousins beach house scene beautifully - one girl (and her brother), two incorrigible boys and a pretty idyllic setting. The Prime Video show built on the books, notably padding out the Steven Conklin character with breakout star Sean Kauffman's on-screen charisma, adding dimension to Belly Conklin's best friend Taylor with bring-it sass of Rain Spencer and introducing brand new characters like Denise (Isabella Briggs) and Taylor's mother Lucinda Jewel (Kristen Connolly) in season 3.
Season 3 took the original narrative of the books to a whole new level, so much so that know-it-all readers like were left feeling unsure of how the series would end until the very last moment.
The movie is the first instalment of The Summer I Turned Pretty that won't be grounded in the narrative of a book, so we're clueless as to the plot. There are, however, some predictions I'd like to bring to the table, based on what I have read and seen so far. Only one of these could be considered a spoiler of sorts (unless you haven't watched the final episode yet, in which case get back to it) and it's the very last one, number five, so stop at four if you want to swerve it. Here goes...
1. A California getaway
Nothing to do with the books, but considering Steven, Taylor and Denise were jetting off to San Francisco, California, following seed funding for Steven's start-up video game venture and Conrad is based there for his medical studies, surely some of the movie has to take place in the Golden State. Will the first half of the movie have a The O.C. feel? Stay tuned.
2. 'Staylor' survive
We've come too far for Steven and Taylor to call it off. Fans have been almost as invested in this on-off relationship as they have been with Belly and Conrad and Han knows it. Test them, yes, make them fight? Sure, we live for the fireworks, but for the love of all things Cousins, keep them together. These two deserve each other.
3. Jeremiah and Denise don't
Again, nothing I can glean from the books helps me here as the woman Taylor dubbed a 'wannabe Shiv Roy' didn't exist in Han's original narrative, but while her clinch with Jeremiah warmed my heart in the finale episode, making them a happy-ever-after couple feels trite. When Jeremiah told her that it would do him good to be alone (in the wake of the rest of his friends taking off to California) it rang true - Jeremiah needs to forge his own path, it feels crucial for his character development and following a new crush to another state feels like self-sabotage. Plus, we're going to need a will-they-won't-they love story to follow in the movie and we can't cope with Belly and Conrad splitting again - it has to be Jeremiah's tale.
4. Laurel and Adam have a dalliance
Hear me out. They lock horns, they curse each other, but in the book Han makes a point of revealing that these two used to date. Once Lauren realised he was better suited to best friend Susannah, she set the pair up and the rest is history. I'm not saying these two will get together and stay together, it feels so wrong, but have one too many Champagnes (Adam might still be trying to make his way through that leftover wedding stock 'it's good stuff!' remember?) and haphazardly fall into each others arms for a night? Full of regret the morning after? Maybe. Don't say I didn't warn you.
5. The ultimate spoiler
Now this was in the books and if you want to steer clear of possible spoilers, stop reading now. Han kept this scene out of the finale episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty season 3 and I understand why. A year or two after reconciling in Paris, Belly reads her wedding day letter from Susannah and writes her one back, telling her that she is marrying her boy, Conrad. She's in a white wedding dress with capped lace sleeves, they're at the Cousins beach house, surrounded by their loved ones and Jeremiah is there, happy, with a date. In the final scene of the series, the pair take off to the beach - the setting for so many of the key moments in their relationship. Conrad picks Belly up, long dress and all, and they charge into the water together, that's their happily ever after.
It would have felt too melodramatic in season 3. Even the most ardent Team Conrad members championed Belly and her self-discovery moment in Paris, followed her entire character arc with patience and understanding - having Tung's character rush into marriage at the very end may have felt out of step with the pace of the script, even after a 'two years later' slide. But I can see it in the final scenes of the movie, when appetite will be ripe for an idyllic epilogue. Whether Han will honour her own words here remains to be seen, but I'm all for it.