Emily Henry has officially taken over the rom-com book world — and she’s about to bring some of her stories to life on screen.
Henry, along with Lyrical Media and Ryder Picture Company, announced in July 2024 that her novel Funny Story, which was released three months prior, would be turned into a film.
“I have a draft of a script, and as soon as I finish this letter to you, I’m diving back into it,” Henry wrote in her newsletter at the time, alongside a selfie of her holding the script for Funny Story. “Because we’re all chomping at the bit to get this made.”
Henry previously discussed her dream cast for the movie with Us Weekly, agreeing that Logan Lerman is a perfect fit for leading man Miles and Camila Morrone for Daphne. Henry also approved Glen Powell taking on the role of Peter, Daphne’s ex-boyfriend.
“Before you even said that, it popped into my head,” Henry told Us at the time. “That either means I’m psychic or we’re really onto something that feels right.”
Henry also included Meghann Fahy, Rain Spencer, Sydney Chandler, Hilary Duff, Jenna Fischer, Jennifer Coolidge and Dennis Quaid as part of her possible dream cast.
Keep scrolling for a guide to Henry’s upcoming movie adaptations and more:
‘Beach Read’
Released in May 2020, Beach Read follows romance writer January, who is stuck in a literary rut and attempts to write a new novel while staying in her family’s old beach house for the summer. When she arrives, she runs into Augustus Everett, her former college rival and now-acclaimed literary fiction author, who ends up living next door to her. The twosome reconnect and challenge each other to write in each other’s genres.
In April 2023, Henry announced that Beach Read was being adapted into a movie directed by fellow romance author Yulin Kuang. She later shared that a “fantastic” first draft exists, which is “so different” than she expected.
“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 told Variety in March 2024. “Yulin is working on the next draft now, and it should be ready to do more with very soon.”
‘People We Meet on Vacation’
Released in May 2021, People We Meet on Vacation tells the story of two best friends, Poppy and Alex, who have met for a vacation every summer for a decade. After something goes awry on one of their trips, they stop speaking for two years.
Henry announced in October 2022 that the novel would be headed to the big screen with Brett Haley as the director. Kuang signed on as the screenwriter.
In March 2024, Henry told Variety that the People We Meet on Vacation screenplay “has gone through a lot of different drafts,” noting that Kuang was working on her own debut novel at the same time.
Five months later, Deadline reported that Tom Blyth and Emily Bader are set to star in the project, which will be Henry’s first movie to go into production.
‘Book Lovers’
Following its release in May 2022, Henry and production company Tango announced in March 2023 that Book Lovers would be turned into a movie. Girls writer Sarah Heyward is set to write the script.
Book Lovers tells the story of Nora, a literary agent, who is convinced by her sister to spend one August holiday in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, where she continues to run into Charlie, a book editor. Nora must eventually decide if it’s worth changing her whole life for a happily ever after.
While Henry has yet to share any casting decisions, fans speculated that Normal People’s Paul Mescal and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri may be attached to the project after Mescal said he wanted to do a rom-com in the next five years with Edebiri. The pair also posed for a pic together in March 2024, which Henry reposted via her Instagram Story, further fueling the rumors.
“I can’t confirm or deny anything with casting for any movie. I will say that those are two of my favorite ‘Irish’ actors,” Henry told Variety that month. (While Mescal is actually from Ireland, Edeberi has long been joking about having Irish heritage.)
‘Happy Place’
Happy Place, released in April 2023, follows recent exes Harriet Kilpatrick and Wyn Connor as they pretend to still be together on a group trip with their friends. The pair try to work through the obstacles of their relationship and breakup — and eventually discover what their “happy place” means to them.
In June 2024, Deadline reported that Jennifer Lopez’s production company, Nuyorican Productions, will develop a TV adaptation of the novel.
“WE CANNOT WAIT TO WORK WITH @emilyhenrywrites on her brilliant amazing novel #happyplace!!! @jlo #NuyoricanProductions,” producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas wrote via her Instagram Story at the time.
‘Funny Story’
Funny Story, released in April 2024, follows Daphne Vincent, a children’s librarian who ends up being dumped by her fiancé, Peter, after moving to Waning Bay, Michigan. She then moves in with Miles — the ex of Peter’s new girlfriend — while settling into her life in a new town.
In July 2024, Henry announced that the novel would be turned into a film — and that she was writing the script herself.
