Spoilers are ahead. No one likes to see something they love come to an end, which is why it’s only natural to wonder what the future has in store for Elle Evans (Joey King) now that her adolescent adventures have come to a close. The Kissing Booth 3 hit Netflix on August 11 and revealed Elle’s final decisions about college and her love life. But seeing as the end was left pretty vague, some fans are praying The Kissing Booth series isn't actually over. While there's certainly an argument for showing audiences more of Elle's adventures, you may not want to hold your breath.
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During an interview with Variety in August 2020, Kissing Booth director Vince Marcello referred to the third film as “the culmination of this coming of age story — not just for Elle, but for Noah and Lee, as well.” He went on to add that, “Although their paths are entwined, each has their own journey with a set of challenges that they need to overcome before closing the chapter of their lives that was adolescence and beginning their new journey into adulthood.” Marcello also said the series had “a joyful and emotionally satisfying ending.”
It doesn’t take a detective to know that terms like “closing the chapter” and “satisfying ending” are usually used to indicate the end of an era, which makes the hope of any continued storyline pretty thin at this point.
But it's not just up to the director — there's an author to consider as well. The Kissing Booth saga is based on the Beth Reekles novels, and unfortunately, it seems the author is also ready to bid these characters farewell when her third (and most likely final) book The Kissing Booth 3: One Last Time hits the shelves August 17.
And if the title didn't already give it away, Reekles referred to the book in a recent Instagram post as being “a gorgeous final chapter in Elle, Lee and Noah’s story,” adding yet another nail into The Kissing Booth’s coffin.
Honestly, though, this shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise to most fans. Last year, it was revealed that the third movie was shot at the same time as the second film, which indicates the series was always meant to be a trilogy.
Granted, that doesn’t mean that down the line there isn’t wiggle room for some sort of revival or even a spinoff, especially given how open-ended The Kissing Booth 3 is. In the final moments of the movie, Elle and Noah (Jacob Elordi) reunited six years after their breakup and it was clear they were still very into each other. The ending was definitely written in a way that leaves the door open for another narrative about their adult love story, but we may have to leave that to the fan fiction writers. The powers behind the franchise consider this kissing booth officially closed for business.