When it comes to dream rom-com duos, no one really tops our favourite Irish nationals Paul Mescal and Ayo Edebiri (the peoples' princess of Ireland). The duo have been friends IRL for a while now – off the back off being seen hanging out together at the recent BAFTAs in London, alongside Mescal's All of Us Strangers co-star Andrew Scott.
In an interview with Awards Watch last year, Mescal mentioned having seen Edebiri's recent comedy film Bottoms and how he was "incredibly jealous and brightened of everybody’s talents involved with that film". He also set himself a test on record: "I think in the next five years I’m going to set myself a challenge to do maybe like a rom-com with Ayo (Edebiri) or something like that would be cool.
“In the next five years I’m going to set myself a challenge to do maybe like a rom-com with Ayo [Edebiri] or something like that would be cool.” – Paul Mescal
(Source: https://t.co/mLO7XJYayP) pic.twitter.com/phwOzA9WQn
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 21, 2023
Edebiri even responded publicly to Mescal's call-out, saying "Paul and I have spoken about it. Something that’s got, like, a heart, so he [Mescal] can still flex his drama muscles where it’s like, the covert rom-com. Like, still a rom-com, but we got to get something inventive."
But if recent speculation is true, then it looks like Mescal and Edebiri's manifestation skills might be on the money. The duo recently posted a St. Patrick's Day post on Instagram together, which was shared by a notable author and her screenwriter, leading internet sleuths to believe that the duo could be fronting a rom-com novel adaptation of Emily Henry's Beach Read on screens very soon.
For everything we know so far, read on.
What is Beach Read about?
The film in question is an adaptation of author Emily Henry's Beach Read. And the speculation around their potential to co-star in the adaptation stems from their recent St. Patrick's Day IG post being reposted by Henry on her Instagram.
And just to solidify things, Yulin Kuang, the film's screenwriter and director, ALSO reposted the same photo on her Instagram story. It does seem like more than a coincidence at this point – especially since Henry's other book Book Lovers is being adapted by Tango Entertainement, which produced Mescal's Oscar-nominated role in Aftersun.
The novel is a romantic comedy that follows two authors who swap writing genres for the summer.
Who is part of the project?
Yulin Kuang has been tapped to adapt and direct the feature film for 20th Century Studios, but the film is still waiting for other notable names to be attached officially.
When will it be released?
The film is still in very early stages of production, so there is no official release date as of yet. We'll keep you updated as we hear more.
