Emily Henry has cracked the code for writing incredible romance novels that captivate readers’ hearts, even if they don’t usually indulge in the romance genre. After the success of her adult romance novels, all of which have been No. 1 Best Sellers, she’s managed to expand her fan base through screen adaptations.
In January 2026, her first movie adaptation, People We Meet on Vacation, starring Tom Blyth and Emily Bader, was released on Netflix and met with massive success.
Both book and movie fans alike are now waiting for the rest of her novels to be adapted, and while there are adaptation plans surrounding many of her books, it appears Beach Read will be the next movie hitting our screens.
In February, it was announced that Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor has been cast as January Andrews, the female lead in Beach Read. The novel follows January, a romance novelist who’s been struggling to write after her father’s death. The story picks up when she moves into the beach house her father had kept hidden from her for years, readying to sell it.
While fans have been thrilled to learn that Dynevor is taking on this role, they’re still waiting for news on the casting of our male lead, Gus Everett.
Gus is a fellow author whom January hasn’t seen since college, when she considered him to be her rival. The two happen to be neighbors for the summer, and as they’re both feeling stuck on their writing, they enter a challenge: swapping genres to see who can successfully write in the other’s style.
While the casting news has been quiet since announcing Dynevor’s role, fans have been anything but silent. Many have been campaigning to have actors like Logan Lerman, Corey Mylchreest, and Dev Patel fill the role, hoping to find someone who can accurately portray the character that everyone has grown to love through the novel.
Beach Read is being written and directed by Yulin Kuang, the co-writer of the People We Meet on Vacation adaptation. After the success of that movie, this adaptation is certainly in good hands.
While these are the only two Emily Henry adaptations Kuang is working on, it’s been announced that Henry herself will be writing the film script for her book, Funny Story.
Henry has also said she’d be interested in writing the film script for an adaptation of Great Big Beautiful Life; however, there’s no news yet on whether that novel will be adapted for the screen, despite being a best-selling book.
Both Book Lovers and Happy Place are in development to become screen adaptations as well. Girls writer and producer Sarah Heyward is set to write the Book Lovers script, while Happy Place is being optioned by Netflix for Jennifer Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions, with Henry once again writing the script.
While there’s a lot of movie news in the Emily Henry universe, there hasn’t been much talk around any new books from the author. That being said, there are still things for book fans to look forward to in the coming months.
Henry has recently announced that there will be a Deluxe Edition of Book Lovers hitting shelves on Aug. 18, following similar Deluxe Editions of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read.
There’s certainly tons of exciting news on the horizon for Emily Henry fans. From new movie news to upcoming casting announcements to beautiful special editions, both book and movie fans alike have a lot to look forward to in the next few years!
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