Emily Henry’s <em>Beach Read</em> Movie: What We Know So Far

In Emily Henry’s bestselling novel Beach Read, romance author January Andrews argues that her books are—to steal a phrase from Henry herself—not “silly or superfluous.” So insists January: “If you swapped out all my Jessicas for Johns, do you know what you’d get? Fiction. Just fiction. Ready and willing to be read by anyone, but somehow by being a woman who writes about women, I’ve eliminated half the Earth’s population from my potential readers.” The scene is one in which Henry seems to speak to audiences directly through her protagonist. Now that Beach Read is officially gearing up for a shiny big-screen adaptation, Henry seems perfectly aware that the issues haunting publishing similarly permeate Hollywood.

In an interview with ELLE.com ahead of the release of her book, Funny Story, Henry shared that “there’s still a huge stigma on romance in Hollywood.” She continued, “If you think about how stars tend to break out, it’s usually in either romance or horror, which are the two cheapest genres to make. They’re the least prestigious, arguably. And then once those two genres launch [stars] hard and they’re beloved, then they go on and do other things. ‘You’re doing what we take seriously now. Maybe you could be up for an Oscar someday.’”

The Beach Read film, however, will be led by two actors who already have considerable star power: Bridgerton’s Phoebe Dynevor and The White Lotus’s Patrick Schwarzenegger. Here’s all we know about the project so far.

Beach Read follows January and her college rival, Augustus, as they attempt to swap literary philosophies: January, the romance novelist, will write a Great American Novel, while Gus, a literary novelist, will end his next book with a Happily Ever After. In the process, they’ll discover the truth behind their own love story.

Henry’s fellow romance author Yulin Kuang is attached to both adapt and direct the project for 20th Century Studios. In March 2024, Henry told Variety that a “fantastic” first draft already exists. “It’s so different than I would have thought to approach it,” she told the outlet. “It feels like a big swing, which I am all about because I think the worst thing that a movie can be is boring and mediocre. If we’re doing this, let’s really go for it.” She added, “Yulin is working on the next draft now, and it should be ready to do more with very soon.”

20th Century has officially found its leads. In April 2026, Deadline revealed that Phoebe Dynevor is set to star as January, with Patrick Schwarzenegger cast opposite her as Gus.

Following the casting announcement, some readers expressed disappointment online over Schwarzenegger’s casting, with social media posts circulating under the hashtag #NotMyGus. But Henry signaled her support for the adaptation’s creative direction during a May 2026 appearance on the Today show. “It is our baby—the readers’ and my baby—but it’s also the filmmakers’ baby and the studio’s baby, and I’m along for the ride with the readers, and we just have to trust the vision,” she said.

Henry also praised writer-director Yulin Kuang, adding, “Yulin Kuang, our writer-director, is so brilliant, and I know she’s gonna do an amazing job.” She teased that more casting announcements are still to come and noted that production is expected to start “very soon.”

An official release date has not yet been announced.

This story will be updated.