Is After Ever Happy the Final Movie in the Franchise and Should it Be?
Is the once massively popular After franchise finally waning? Here’s why people are questioning if it should continue.
Anna Todd was once an unknown writer struggling to get her stories out there on freelance romance novel platforms. However, among the tons of other stories out there, it soon became clear that her novel was a unicorn, one of those rare gems that could take off in unimaginable ways and go viral.
Fast-forward to the present day, Todd and her After novels are now globally famous, amassing millions of readers and viewers around the world amounting to box office success for the films that followed too. However, as time has gone on, following the release of more and more novels and films, the movies appear to be losing a bit of traction with audiences. As we’ve seen with superhero fatigue, it seems viewers with this franchise may also be exhibiting a bit of lag in getting behind upcoming projects.
There are a variety of reasons why this might be happening. As we examine some of these, keep in mind that no one’s saying the franchise is dead by any means. Ardent fans of Todd, her novels, the film series, and romance in general, do still turn out in numbers to support it. However, there is growing evidence that seems to support the fact that the franchise may be headed toward a cliff, or at least lack the depth required for it to enjoy the kind of true longevity it may be aiming for.
The Original Novels and Films
Anna Todd’s story as a writer is a truly inspiring one for anyone out there trying to make a name for themselves as one. She initially began publishing her novels as fan fiction on the platform Wattpad, where she wrote and uploaded a new chapter a day for over a year. Her novels for the After series were initially written as fan fiction for One Direction.
The platform and others like it are known for being a notoriously cut-throat world where aspiring authors have a chance to get their novels digitally published and potentially find an audience, but in an environment where they’re competing with thousands of writers from all over the world, all clamoring to do the same. That’s not even mentioning the unscrupulous agents who are always on the lookout for writers to make a buck off and the paltry royalties that most writers earn if they’re lucky to make anything at all.
Unlike most of these writers, Todd’s books became huge hits and spawned a massive following. Eventually, the stories became so popular that by 2019, the first one was turned into a film. Like the books, the films became global hits too. With Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Josephine Langford as the leads, their chemistry, looks, and the passionate dynamics of their love story captivated romance lovers and grew the franchise further.
Critics Hate Them
Unfortunately, as much as fans of the series have made it a huge success, the films tend to be mercilessly torn to shreds by critics. Most peg them as sappy and predictable, or boring and lacking in depth. As the films have gone on, their initially torrid ratings on Rotten Tomatoes have progressively gotten worse. While the first film, After, received 18%, the next one, After We Collided only received a 13% rating, with the last two films each receiving 0% ratings.
Here’s a snippet of a review that summed up a lot about why the franchise has slowly been faltering more and more since the film After We Collided was released.
Too moronic to work as a serious romantic drama and too boring to work as straightforward sleaze, “After We Collided” is a film so dumb I fear that some may be tempted to look it up to see just how bad it really is.
Will There Be More Films?
There have thus far been four films in the franchise. Initially, the first three films were released in a maelstrom of excitement among audiences. However, that kind of feverish anticipation has diminished a lot since, especially among viewers who aren’t hardened fans of the original novels.
One of the reasons why non-fans have tended to roll their eyes at the more recent films was down to the fact that the films seem to now only be interested in making money. While it was initially uncertain that any other films were being made, fans later learned that a new film, After Everything, was secretly being filmed. With filming now wrapped, the film is due to be released in September.
Not only will this film add a fifth to the franchise, but there has also been news that there are plans to make two more films, one a prequel, and a new sequel that delves into the future of the Scott family. While the main characters, Hardin and Tessa, appear to have their days numbered in the film franchise, it appears the franchise itself will now almost certainly outlive their role in it.
Should There Be More Films?
Chief among the reasons why critics have been so rough on the films and interest in them has waned is the fact that the story doesn’t really have that much room for growth that can keep up the excitement of the early films. Since the entire franchise centered around the tumultuous love story of Hardin and Tessa, all that kept it going since was continuous fights and conflicts between them that always seemed to sound the death knell for their relationship, only for them to find their way back to each other again, with plenty of tepid sex scenes in-between, of course.
While hardcore fans of the series always do their part to ensure it remains successful, all that seems to have been achieved is a willingness by studios to keep the franchise going as a moneymaker without any regard for trying to produce anything of great substance anymore. The story has also been criticized for being a negative role model for its target audience, mostly teenagers, since it often revels in the twisted, toxic, and even semi-violent relationship that it holds up as its main feature.
While fans of the franchise will be only too excited to hear of its continuation, critics and movie lovers will hope that future installments will at least seek to be less esoteric and attempt to put out films that other audiences, aside from fans, can also enjoy.
