‘Beach Read’ Movie in the Works With Phoebe Dynevor — Full Breakdown
20th Century Studios is adapting Emily Henry’s best-selling romance novel Beach Read, with Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor cast as lead character January Andrews and Yulin Kuang set to write and direct.
The Casting
Dynevor will play January Andrews, a romance author who swaps genres with her college rival, Augustus Everett, while living in neighboring lake houses.
Dynevor previously starred in Bridgerton as Daphne Bridgerton, a role that demonstrated her ability to carry a romance-driven narrative. January Andrews is a different kind of heroine — one dealing with grief, creative crisis, and a rivalry that slowly becomes something else entirely. The role demands range beyond the romantic.
The role of Augustus Everett remains uncast.
Yulin Kuang at the Helm
Yulin Kuang, who co-wrote the script for People We Meet on Vacation, will write and direct Beach Read. That continuity matters for fans paying attention to how Henry’s voice translates to screen.
An adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation was released on Netflix less than a month prior to the Beach Read casting announcement.
Emily Henry on Adaptations: ‘A Battle’
Henry has been remarkably candid about what the adaptation process feels like for an author. In a 2025 interview with USA TODAY, she described the process as a “battle.”
“It is so hard and weird and painful and it’s humbling in ways that are really beautiful and ways that are really horrible,” she said. “When you are working on an adaptation and you’re the author of the original thing, you are the least important person in every room if you’re even in the room.”
That candor offers a striking window into the tension between an author’s vision and the realities of Hollywood filmmaking.
All Six Novels Heading to Screen
The Beach Read adaptation is not an isolated project. All of Henry’s novels — Great Big Beautiful Life, Book Lovers, Happy Place, and Funny Story — are also slated for adaptation, in addition to the already-released People We Meet on Vacation and the now-in-development Beach Read.
Henry has written six best-selling adult romance novels over five years and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. That sales track record helps explain why Hollywood is treating her catalog as an entire pipeline.
Beach Read was published in 2020 and is described as Henry’s first best-selling adult romance novel. It is the second of her novels to reach the adaptation stage, after People We Meet on Vacation, meaning the adaptations are arriving in a different sequence than publication order.
What’s Still Unknown
A release date for the Beach Read adaptation has not been announced. No additional casting beyond Dynevor has been revealed.
What is confirmed: 20th Century Studios is producing, Yulin Kuang is writing and directing, and Phoebe Dynevor is stepping into the role of January Andrews.
BOTTOM LINE: The Emily Henry adaptation era is fully underway — with Beach Read now in development and all six of her novels headed to screen — but fans will have to wait for a release date and the crucial Augustus Everett casting announcement.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
