On May 11, 2018, The Kissing Booth was released on Netflix and became the movie hit of the summer. Although considered “outdated” and “cheesy” by critics, many enjoyed the film, shared it and followed the franchise.
Even the service’s director of the movie, Ian Bricke, did not expect the large amount of teenage craze and success the film brought, considering the little amount of marketing they did. According to The New York Times, he explained, “We weren’t aggressively marketing the film, but when people find a movie like this on Netflix, they feel like they’ve discovered it for themselves, and there’s a degree of ownership and investment that translates into word of mouth.”
Courtesy: Giphy
After its release and ending of the film, many wondered if a sequel would happen. Nine months later, Joey King and Joel Courtney, the main characters who play best friends in the film, released a video on Instagram announcing a sequel for The Kissing Booth. Fans of the first film expressed their excitement, but also their concern for the lack of appearance by Jacob Elordi, who plays Noah Flynn and Joel King’s love interest in the film. Comments such as “Where’s Jacob” or “If Noah doesn’t show up…” appeared in the comment section and soon came the speculation that Elordi would not be in the second film.
Many came to the conclusion that his lack of debut in the teaser video was because of his breakup with his co-star, Joey King. Many adored this real-life couple on and off the screen and were deeply saddened when the couple called it quits. After the success of Elordi’s newest show, Euphoria, featuring Zendaya, many speculated his lack of return to the sequel, especially since he has not been spotted on set.
On Oct. 18, Netflix released a small clip of the cast of the sequel, stating how they had a great time shooting the sequel and could not wait for the fans to see it. Towards the end of the clip, Jacob Elordi confirmed he will return as Noah Flynn in The Kissing Booth 2. The response to this announcement was an overall positive one, but just after the video was released, much commentary was made on the attitude Elordi exuberated during the Netflix clip. For instance, articles were released with titles such as “Jacob Elordi Really Doesn’t Look Excited To Be Back On ‘Kissing Booth 2’ With His Ex” on the Goat.
The article consists of twitter reactions and memes of Elordi’s lack of enthusiasm and even his opinion on the character he plays. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Elordi stated, “The Kissing Booth was the first film I ever made — it was sort of my ticket to Hollywood, so I was really grateful for that. It’s almost like righting my wrongs a little bit too, because the character in The Kissing Booth is awful and it’s never really explained.”
Courtesy: Just Jared
Nonetheless, fans are excited to see their favorite bad boy back on the big screen. In addition, many are interested to see the chemistry between these ex-lovers come back to life and can only hope for the best for The Kissing Booth franchise.
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