January 2026 brought us People We Meet on Vacation, and it looks like the next Emily Henry adaptation to take shape will be Beach Read.
With the two leads now cast, production on the feature film based on the first of Emily Henry’s adult romance novels that came out in 2020 will likely start production soon.
For everything we know about the Beach Read movie, read on:
When will the Beach Read movie come out?
No release date has yet been set, but this one will go to theaters since it’s backed by 20th Century Studios.
Who will be in the Beach Read movie?
As Deadline exclusively reported, Bridgerton alum Phoebe Dynevor, who led the first season of the Shonda Rhimes and Netflix series based on Julia Quinn’s books, will star as January Andrews. Deadline also broke the news that Patrick Schwarzenegger, fresh off The White Lotus Season 3 and Love of Your Life with Margaret Qualley, will portray Augustus ‘Gus’ Everett.
“‘Patrick is a slow burn,’ is what I wrote in my notes after meeting him for the first time. There was something about the way he talked about his feelings on love and romance that I couldn’t forget. But I was unconvinced we’d found our Gus, because I knew we had to be exhaustive in our efforts, given how important this character is to readers,” writer/director Yulin Kuang said on Instagram.
Kuang described the six-month process of searching for Gus reviewing many tapes, sending avails checks and taking meetings.
“Once we knew Phoebe would be our January, my efforts became more focused and specific – not on who would play the best Gus according to the text, but who would play the best Gus opposite our specific January,” she added. “That meant in-person director sessions and chemistry reads with Phoebe. The moment Patrick sat across from her, there was something electric in the room with us. “There’s magic to chase here,” I wrote in my notes afterwards. I checked in with Phoebe after the reads and she said, “It’s obviously Patrick, isn’t it?” and I thought to myself, ‘So she feels it too.’
RELATED: 8 Differences Between The ‘People We Meet On Vacation’ Movie And Emily Henry’s Book
What is Beach Read by Emily Henry about?
Andrews is a successful romance novelist who, struggling with writer’s block and grief after the death of her father, retreats to his summer cabin on Lake Michigan only to discover some big secrets he had kept from her. While she spends the summer at his beach house to prepare it for sale, she unexpectedly runs into Gus Everett, her once college rival and now famous author in his own right. The pair make a deal to swap literary genres they write in order to shake their creative blocks, vowing that they won’t start their own summer romance, but words only go so far.
Who else is behind the Beach Read movie?
Deadline broke the news in April 2023 that Yulin Kuang will adapt and direct the film adaptation of Beach Read for 20th Century Studios with Original Film producing. She was also a co-writer on People We Meet on Vacation.
Neal H. Moritz producing via his Original Films. Karina Rahardja will exec produce. Sarah Shepard and Catherine Hughes are overseeing for 20th. The literary affairs team, led by Clare Reeth, led efforts to land rights to the book.
