‘Beach Read’ Movie Begins Filming, But Emily Henry Fans Still Aren’t Sold on One Star

The Emily Henry cinematic universe is finally becoming a reality. The movie adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation charmed Netflix viewers earlier this year, and almost all of her other romance novels are in development as a movie or show at various studios. Next on the docket is a movie adaptation of her 2020 hit Beach Read… and it just got some major (and polarizing) updates.

On Monday, Beach Read screenwriter and director Yulin Kuang took to Instagram to share a photo of the camera test between the film’s leads, Bridgerton‘s Phoebe Dynevor and The White Lotus‘ Patrick Schwarzenegger. The post does have some genuinely positive updates: filming on the Beach Read movie has begun, and 20th Century Studios is officially given it a theatrical release. It is set to debut in theaters on May 7, 2027, riding the same release date success that The Devil Wears Prada 2 experienced earlier this year.

“a crumb of bts from the BEACH READ camera test for you, dear reader ? can’t wait to show what we’ve been cooking up ⏲️?‍?,” Kuang’s caption reads. “filming has officially commenced ✅ see you only in theaters on May 7, 2027 ?️???”

But the glimpse at the camera test has further cemented the reality that Schwarzenegger is playing Beach Read‘s male lead, Gus Everett… and a lot of fans aren’t happy about it. This has been an ordeal online ever since his casting was first reported in the trades in April, with plenty of fans taking to social media to voice their dissatisfaction with the casting. Just yesterday, I came across a TikTok of someone who was literally motivated to buy and read the book in order to better understand why people are so upset, spliced together with footage of them finishing the book and immediately getting it.

Why Are Fans Unhappy With Patrick Schwarzenegger’s Beach Read Casting?

The specific reason why book readers are upset with Schwarzenegger’s Beach Read casting is a little hard to articulate. Plenty of people have argued that he doesn’t fit the physical description of Gus from Henry’s book, as a man who is “not the universal kind of handsome” with “olive skin” and “messy, dark curly hair.” There’s also a disconnect between Gus’ demeanor in the book and Schwarzenegger’s energy, whether in his polarizing frat boy role on The White Lotus, his very famous real-life family tree, or his attitude towards other actors on social media.

“We saw a lot of men for this role,” Kuang wrote on Instagram when confirming Schwarzenegger’s casting. “We reviewed a lot of tapes, sent a lot of avails checks and took a lot of meetings over a six month period. I have always maintained that we are not casting a character, but a relationship. Once we knew Phoebe would be our January, my efforts became more focused and specific – not on who would play the best Gus according to the text, but who would play the best Gus opposite our specific January.”

I will admit that, in this camera test photo, Schwarzenegger does look more like Gus than I had personally expected. Even then, part of the point of camera tests is to test out how the actors will look together on camera, and the costuming and makeup are typically going to evolve even further in the finished film. Still, even the most open-minded of Henry fans are still a little apprehensive: as I was writing this article, the settings to Kuang’s Instagram post were tweaked to limit comments, after already getting some responses like “oh, we’re not hungry”, “oh it’s even worse than i imagined”, and “please tell us it’s a joke.”

Beach Read centers around January Andrews and Gus Everett, two novelists and former college rivals who reunite in Michigan while struggling with writer’s block. Over the course of a summer, they decide to swap genres, with Gus writing a romance novel and January writing dark literary fiction… and a romance, naturally, ensues.

As mentioned above, Beach Read is set to be released exclusively in theaters on Friday, May 7, 2027.

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