Apparently, Joey King Has Kept The Kissing Booth 3 Secret For A While

Well, the end of The Kissing Booth 2 didn't exactly have the resolution we'd hoped for, amirite? Elle (Joey King) may have decided to stay with Noah (Jacob Elordi) rather than explore her feelings for the new kid Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez), but the story isn't exactly tied up with a bow thanks to one lingering moment: When Marco's friend tells him that Elle isn't worth pining over, Marco — like every romantic rival in a love triangle before him — says, "Yes, she is." He is not giving up, and that made the production of The Kissing Booth 3 for Netflix inevitable. So inevitable, apparently, that King and co. already filmed The Kissing Booth 3.

Marco's moment isn't even the only cliffhanger in the finale. Elle also lies to her best friend Lee (Joel Courtney) and to her boyfriend Noah, saying that she is waitlisted at the only colleges she applied to, Berkeley and Harvard. In a twist, she actually got into both of them, and now she has to choose whether she'll follow Noah to Harvard or stick to her original plan (always go to college with your BFF) and go to Berkeley with Lee. Per King's Instagram announcing the secret sequel, that's exactly what Elle will be agonizing over in the new movie.

King might need to get an award for her acting, because as recently as July 20, she told Refinery29 that the sequel was still very uncertain, saying, "Make it known if you want another one. I'm right there with the fans. If they love it, then I would love to come back. But honestly we just don't know what's going to happen yet."

Courtney, who plays Lee, added that the fans are the reason Kissing Booth 2 was even possible, teeling Refinery29 via Zoom, "They really were the ones who told Netflix, 'We love this, give us another one' with the love and their outpouring of support for us."

Turns out, King absolutely did know what was going to happen — she does serve as an executive producer on The Kissing Booth 2 after all. But I'm sure fans will forgive her for the ruse.

So far, we only know the year in which the sequel will drop on Netflix, naturally it won't be right after Kissing Booth 2. Per the new teaser clip and King herself, we'll be able to check the movie out in 2021. And considering the previous two films dropped in summer, we'd bet that's around when number 3 will go public.

For now, you can enjoy a short scene from the upcoming film, in which Elle dodges a call from Harvard Admissions, instead opting to enjoy summer at the Flynns' dream mansion by the pool, with Noah, Lee, and Rachel.

The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance only just came out in January 2020, and author Beth Reekles hasn't yet announced whether she plans to continue the series further.

But considering that the sequel wrapped production in August 2019, Netflix must have been working with Reekles on the plot long before the book came out. Since that's also when production on The Kissing Booth 3 wrapped, we may just have a new Elle book in our future, too.

There are actually four books in the Kissing Booth series to keep you company for the time being. The original Kissing Booth was adapted into the first movie, and then there's a novella called The Beach House which takes place during the summer between the first and second movies. In that book, Elle and Noah have recently started dating and spend the summer together before he heads off to college. Then comes The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance, which has roughly the same plot as the second movie. And then for World Book Day this past April, Reekles wrote a short story called The Kissing Booth: Road Trip! It one takes place during the events of the second book, when Elle takes a road trip to visit Noah for spring break. 

And if that's not enough for you, Reekles has a book on the way, but it does take place outside of Elle's universe. Lockdown on London Lane is due out in winter of 2022 and is also available to read now on Wattpad, which is where Reekles' Kissing Booth books were originally discovered. The story was inspired by the events of the recent coronavirus pandemic and follows several 20-somethings as they endure quarantine in the same apartment building. Considering Reekles' track record, it's probably only a matter of time before that one gets turned into a movie, too.

Update: This story was originally published July 24, 2020. It has since been updated due to the reveal of The Kissing Booth 3.