Thirteen years ago, people around the world were left in floods of tears watching Holly Kennedy attempt to come to terms with her husband’s tragic and sudden death in P.S. I Love You.
Yes, I’m aware it was just a film, but it was emotional. And if I’m being honest, nothing could have mentally prepared me for watching Gerard Butler die before leaving his grieving widow (played by Hilary Swank) heartbreaking letters from beyond the grave.
Get ready to reopen old wounds because the film is officially getting a sequel, with Swank expected to reprise her role as Holly.
The co-founders and CEOs of Alcon Entertainment, Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, confirmed yesterday the company has acquired the film rights to Postscript – the sequel to the 2003 romance novel P.S. I Love You the film was based on.
The 2007 film adaptation of Cecelia Ahern’s book, which follows the story of Holly and her husband Gerry (Butler) who are tragically torn apart when the latter dies from a brain tumour, was produced and financed by Alcon.
It tells the story of a grieving Holly, who discovers Gerry has left behind 10 letters, each signed with ‘P.S. I love you,’ designed to help Holly overcome her grief and move on with her life.
The follow-up novel, also written by Ahern, was published in the UK last September via HarperCollins and in the US yesterday, February 11, via Grand Central Publishing.
Postscript begins seven years after Gerry’s death and six years since Holly read his last letter, with the widow living a content life with her new love. However, when Holly’s sister asks her to tell the story of the letters on her podcast, she finds herself drawn back into her past, Deadline reports.
Soon after the episode airs, people with terminal illnesses begin reaching out to Holly, asking for her help to write similar letters to their loved ones, and she soon finds herself being forced to revisit her grief and the love she had for Gerry.
The Blind Side production company will co-finance and co-produce the new sequel along with Black Label Media, with Kosove and Johnson from Alcon producing the project with Molly Smith, Trent and Thad Luckinbill of Black Label.
The cast is yet to be announced for the follow-up film, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited about the prospect of Swank returning to our screens.
And who knows, maybe Butler will make an appearance in the form of flashbacks? We can only hope.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).