It is no wonder that fans are clamoring for a Kissing Booth 4. The popular franchise delivers on so many well-loved tropes. There is forbidden romance, high school drama, and an opposites attract pairing with the bad boy and the good girl.
The final scenes in the third movie, The Kissing Booth: One Last Kiss, also left a lot of fans disgruntled. So, there is the opportunity for retribution with another installment.
Will there be a Kissing Booth 4?
Despite the fervor and demand, a Kissing Booth 4 does seem highly unlikely. But don’t fret and despair immediately. Matters are rarely so black-and-white when Hollywood is involved, so there are arguments to be made for either side.
The first, and arguably most important, hurdle to overcome when questioning if there will be a Kissing Booth 4 is to simply look at the subtitle of the third movie: One Last Time. It doesn’t exactly bode well for another installment about one more time around the kissing booth. The book series also describes the third book, One Last Time, as the final installment in the trilogy.
All the marketing surrounding the launch of the third movie on August 11, 2021 did refer to it as the third and final installment. However, The Kissing Booth 3 had a purposefully ambiguous ending. This has contributed to the speculations that there may potentially be a Kissing Booth 4.
It’s important to clarify that this is all speculation at the moment, with nothing being official. However, fans of any franchise will perpetually love speculating about what comes next.
About The Kissing Booth franchise
The whole franchise of The Kissing Booth began, incredibly, when Beth Reekles was only 15 years old. The story of Elle Evans and Noah Flynn first appeared on Wattpad where it accumulated almost 20 million reads. Then it was picked up by a traditional publisher, Random House Children’s Books, in 2012.
The first book takes place while the characters are all in high school. It offers up some standard high school drama before throwing in a generous amount of forbidden romance. Elle is pretty and popular, but hasn’t had her first kiss, while Noah is older, volatile, and a player. He is also Elle’s best friend’s big brother.
An encounter at the kissing booth at their school’s Spring Carnival, however, sends sparks flying and the two of them down a path they cannot avoid.
Author Beth Reekles followed up The Kissing Booth with Going the Distance and then One Last Time. She has also published three accompanying short stories.
- The Kissing Booth (2012)
- The Beach House (2019) (Short Story)
- Going the Distance (2020)
- Road Trip (2020) (Short Story)
- One Last Time (2021)
- Noah’s Story (2021) (Short Story)
The movie adaptation of the first book came out in 2018, with the second movie coming out in 2020. The second and third movies were filmed back-to-back, and the third movie came out in 2021.
The movies star Joey King as Elle Evans, Jacob Elordi as Noah Flynn, and Joel Courtney as Lee Flynn.
Why would there be a Kissing Booth 4?
As previously mentioned, the fan reaction to the conclusion of the third movie was mixed to say the least. If you’re searching for the fourth movie, then you probably know exactly what was so controversial about the third movie. Suffice it to say, there will be spoilers to follow.
Many fans could not get past the styling choice in how the hair and makeup department aged up the cast for an epilogue set a mere six years in the future. Even worst for many was watching Noah walk away again, even if the very final images were more optimistic.
Not that any film within the franchise performed spectacularly well critically, but The Kissing Booth 3 has a 17 per cent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. So, the creative team could potentially try to rectify the relationship with fans by revisiting the franchise with a Kissing Booth 4.
The three main actors — Joey King, Jacob Elordi, and Joel Courtney — have each said that the third film was the final film, but all have not dismissed the idea of returning to the world.
While many fans speculate online about a movie featuring Elle’s college years, it would be tricky to return to the past since the final scenes in The Kissing Booth 3 take place after they graduate.
An easier way to return to the world would be to return to the characters much, much later in their lives. This is also the version all three actors have vocalized.
Both King and Courtney have expressed interest in seeing their characters in the future as grown adults potentially with children. Elordi takes it a step even further with imagining their characters in a care home and reflecting on their lives between age 20 to 92.
About Beth Reekles
Another point in favor of a Kissing Booth 4 revolves around the author herself. Beth Reekles wrote the third Kissing Booth book based on the script for Netflix. While there are subtle differences between the third book and the third movie, both are very similar for this reason.
As already mentioned, Reekles wrote The Kissing Booth when she was 15 and posted it on Wattpad. Two years later, when she was 17, she had secured a three-book publishing deal with Penguin Random House. However, Reekles only recently shifted into being a full-time writer.
For years Reekles balanced writing with her 9-5 office job. She would use vacation days and holidays to write or attend writing events, while working at an energy company as an IT service manager. Eventually it got to the point where she had to decide which career path she was prioritize first.
Since the publication of her debut novel, Reekles prioritized getting her education, landing an office job, then maintaining that office job. However, in October 2021 she decided to pursue writing full-time. More than a year later, and she is still loving it.
Reekles has said she has other projects in various stages of progress behind the scenes. But maybe if the idea of a Kissing Booth spin-off or sequel sparks her muse, a Kissing Booth 4 will become a reality for disheartened fans.
Final thoughts
While there are calls for a Kissing Booth 4 after fans were left feeling a little bit jilted at the lackluster ending of Kissing Booth 3, nothing has been made official. In the meantime, if you haven’t read The Kissing Booth books yet, the trilogy by Beth Reekles may help satisfy that desire as the books reveal much more about the characters with Elle’s internal monologue.
One thought on “Kissing Booth 4: Everything You Need to Know”
While you wait, if you haven’t read Beth Reekles’ Kissing Booth trilogy, it might help you fulfill your wish because Elle’s inner monologue in the books reveals a lot more about the characters. Or you can also enjoy getaway shootout with me.