As Lana Condor has discovered, having a dedicated fanbase is both a blessing and a curse. While the overriding reaction to the first To All The Boys I've Loved Before film was that of love and praise, she's worried the second film might not go down so well.
Namely because her character Lara Jean's blossoming romance with Peter Kavinsky (played by Noah Centineo) is set to be threatened by another love interest, John Ambrose.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan US, Lana admitted that casting directors are struggling to find someone to play John, because that actor has to rival the charm that Noah brings to his character.
"I don't know who's going to play John Ambrose," she started. "But I do know that we're looking long and hard into someone who can match Noah's charm and amazingness, which is very difficult."
The actress then went on to share that she's worried fans will react badly to her having a new love interest in the movie, because they were originally critical of the fact she and Noah aren't actually dating in real life. In fact, she and her boyfriend Anthony De La Torre have been dating for two years.
"It's happened with my personal life," she said of potential backlash against her and Noah not dating in the sequel. "When the movie first came out, the fans weren't happy about my relationship. Fans, of course, wanted me to be with Noah. You watch it, you fall in love with these characters and you're like, 'They need to be in love in real life.'
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"A lot of people were like, 'She needs to be with Noah.' Now, it's calmed down a lot and people are a lot more supportive of Anthony and I's relationship than they were in the beginning, because they know Noah and I are just friends. Whoever we bring in is going to do a great job and I think people are going to be very conflicted."
While the backlash remains to be seen, one thing is for sure: we're very, very excited for the To All The Boys I've Loved Before sequel.
Dusty Baxter-Wright is an award-winning journalist and the Entertainment and Lifestyle Director at Cosmopolitan, having previously worked at Sugarscape. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work covering pop culture, careers, interiors and travel, and oversees the site’s Entertainment and Lifestyle strategy across print, digital and video. As a journalist for the best part of a decade, she has interviewed everyone from Louis Theroux and Channing Tatum to Margot Robbie and Ncuti Gatwa, while she has also spoken on Times Radio and BBC Radio. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram here.
