The Summer I Turned Pretty Movie Is Arriving Much Later Than You Think

If you were penciling in 2026 for The Summer I Turned Pretty movie, go ahead and erase that. Jenny Han just reset expectations: the movie is happening, but not next year, and not on any clock we can see yet.

So... when is it coming?

Short answer: nobody knows. In a new chat with Variety, Han said filming hasn’t even started, so a 2026 release is off the table. That’s not hedging — it’s just where things are.

"No, I don’t think so. I don’t know when it will be out, but I don’t think it’s safe to say next year because we haven’t filmed it yet."

Why the slowdown might be a good thing

Han actually wants the breathing room. Her logic: the extra time lets the actors feel closer to the ages and phases the story is aiming for. We watched Belly at 15, turning 16, and then becoming a young woman. Now Lola Tung is 22, and Han likes having that distance built in. The potential time jump for the movie? Not locked yet — she made it clear those decisions haven’t been made.

What the movie is (and isn’t) right now

This got a little inside baseball: Amazon’s Prime Video announced the film just hours after the show’s finale dropped on the platform — which is a very studio move. Plot details are still under wraps, but the plan is for the movie to cap Belly’s story. Han is writing and directing the feature herself. She teased one thing on TODAY: there’s another big milestone ahead for Belly, and the movie will carry her into that.

• 2026 release? Not happening.
• Filming: hasn’t begun.
• Timeline: no official target yet.
• Creative: Jenny Han is writing and directing.
• Story promise: the film will conclude Belly’s journey, with another big milestone on deck.
• Time jump: undecided.

Bottom line: it’s coming, but it’s on the story’s schedule — and the actors’ ages — not ours. Honestly, that might make for a better goodbye.