Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Season 3, Episode 11.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” concluded its three-season run with a dramatic series finale, but author and showrunner Jenny Han had another trick up her sleeve that was revealed just hours after the finale dropped: a movie to conclude the Prime Video series.
“It was my vision for quite some time, but now all the pieces have kind of come together,” Han told TheWrap of the movie, which she is set to write alongside Sarah Kucserka as well as direct. “The series was all building towards Belly and Conrad’s reunion, and I just didn’t want to take away from that.”
Han told TheWrap that she has a draft of the script for the movie, but a specific release timeline has not yet been set — they still have to shoot it, of course.
The series finale also finally concluded the love triangle between Lola Tung’s Belly, Christopher Briney’s Conrad and Gavin Casalegno’s Jeremiah with a Parisian reunion for Belly and Conrad, which saw the couple work through their strains and queued up for a romantic declaration of love on a train.
Below, Han breaks down the series ending, teases what viewers can expect from the movie and keeps us guessing on the possibility of a spinoff series.
The secret is now finally out about the movie! How did the movie come together and why did it feel like the right move to separate the series’ conclusion from what we can only anticipate will be Belly and Conrad’s wedding?
The series was all building towards Belly and Conrad’s reunion, and I just didn’t want to take away from that and then short shrift the audience with five minutes of seeing what comes next. I think a movie felt really fitting and lovely, and I was hoping that that’s what we would be able to do. It was my vision for quite some time, but now all the pieces have kind of come together, so I’m really excited and relieved that I can finally say that it’s happening.
With the movie coming out, how did you want to leave off the show in those final moments?
I wanted to see Belly go back home and to her favorite place in the world. I think now that she’s seen a bit more of the world and appreciated it, in some ways, Cousins is all the more dear to her. I thought it would be a lovely and fitting end to the show.
The last three episodes of the series ventured off to Paris in a departure from the books. Why did it feel right to bring the adventure to Paris and how did you want to ground this part of the story?
I love Paris, and it is, I think, the most romantic city in the world. Although I haven’t seen the whole world, I can say that from what I’ve seen, it’s so romantic and everywhere you look, there’s beauty. There’s a reason why it’s such a common theme in movies and books that a young woman goes to Paris to find herself because I think the city has so much history. It’s filled with beauty everywhere you turn, and for me, it makes me feel really alive and creative, so I really wanted to give that experience to Belly.
What’s the status of the movie? Is it written yet? Has anything been filmed?
We right now have a draft, but it’s still very much early days. There’s really not much I can share at the moment, but hopefully you will know more soon.
You’re also making your feature directorial debut with the movie. Why did it feel right for you to direct the movie yourself?
I really loved the experience of doing it this season, so I thought I would love to be the one to finish out the story myself.
And are you hoping for a theatrical release?
I think we’ll see. I mean, I don’t know. It’s still really early, but I guess we’ll have to find out.
There’s always chatter about a potential spin-off series, and fans have been loving the idea of one centered on Suzanne and Laurel in college. Where do you stand on a spin-off series right now?
I’m working on the movie and focused on that, and I think if I get struck with an idea that feels really exciting to me, then that’s something I would be really happy to explore. But I think for the time being, my eyes are on the movie, and making that as good as it can be.
Since the movie has been announced, there’s been lots of speculation about where it take might take place. We have so many of our supporting characters going to San Francisco. Will some of it be set in California, or will it mostly take place in cousins?
It’s too soon to say.
Why do you think Jeremiah and Denise were a good fit? And what’s your message to fans who were shipping Jeremiah and Redbird?
To me, Jeremiah and Denise makes sense, because I think sometimes opposites can attract. It’s a nice balance because Denise doesn’t really take guff from people. She’s a badass, and I think that Jer finds it sexy. I think we were able to sort of safely get to know Denise because she wasn’t introduced as a love interest for Jeremiah. I feel really happy that the fans liked Denise, and hopefully had fun with the romance. Oh and Jeremiah and Redbird, well sorry, it didn’t go your way this time, but hopefully you enjoyed the friendship.
When Conrad arrives in Paris, we’re kind of expecting this big reunion, and Belly is kind of hesitant to let herself go there. Why did that feel true to her? And why did you want to craft that moment maybe not as the big romantic reunion that some fairy tales might have?
She’s out of that relationship with Jeremiah, but she obviously doesn’t want to hurt him and sort of leaping into his brother’s arms after she kind of ended things with him over Conrad would be certainly hurtful. I think she’s cognizant of the fact that she has caused him a lot of pain and has been the source of hurt for him and in their relationship, and I think she feels so much shame and guilt over it that she’s being really cautious. I also think she’s cautious with her own heart. She loved Conrad really deeply for a long time, and that first heartbreak was really hard, and I think she didn’t want to feel that again.
In her relationship with Jeremiah, she just never saw him as someone who would ever hurt her that way. And I think that there was real safety and comfort in that. She didn’t have that with Conrad. He’s had this really great growth in Season 3, and we’ve gotten to see him really longing for her and yearning for her and being really steadfast. But let’s not forget, in Season 2, when she’s says to him, ‘I thought we loved each other,’ and she has like tears in her eyes, and he says, ‘We did.’
He didn’t say, ‘I do’ or ‘We do.’ He didn’t give her that in that moment because he wasn’t able to. From her perspective, she’s just isn’t completely sure, and she’s afraid, and she knows that once she starts with him, it’s really hard to not love him completely. She really has taken this time in Paris to find herself and to be on her own, and I think it’s scary to see him again and maybe potentially have him rock her whole world, because she knows once she’s back in it, she’s in it because that’s how intense her feelings for him are.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty” Seasons 1-3 are now streaming on Prime Video.
