Exclusive Interview
‘People We Meet on Vacation’ Sequel? Screenwriter Yulin Kuang Shares Her Hopes
What To Know
- Yulin Kuang was the screenwriter for Netflix’s adaptation of Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation.
- In an exclusive interview with Swooon, Kuang expressed interest in a potential sequel or spinoff for the movie.
- She is currently adapting and directing Emily Henry’s Beach Read as well.
[Warning: The following contains spoilers for People We Meet on Vacation.]
If there’s one thing Yulin Kuang‘s going to do, it’s bring an Emily Henry novel to life.
How to End a Love Story author Yulin Kuang served as the screenwriter for People We Meet on Vacation, developing a script that not only brought fans’ favorite book moments to life but also brought new depth to beloved characters Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth). Now that her first Emily Henry adaptation has hit Netflix, her second adaptation, Beach Read, is already on the way. During an exclusive interview with Swooon, Kuang revealed that the highly anticipated movie, which she is set to adapt and direct, is already casting!
Now that People We Meet on Vacation has finally hit Netflix, Kuang sat down with Swooon to chat about all things Alex and Poppy, reveal what it’s really like working with Emily Henry, and her idea for a People We Meet on Vacation sequel.
You’re also directing and adapting Beach Read. What about Emily Henry’s novels, as Poppy would put it, speaks to you?
Yulin Kuang: I’d have to say it’s the emotional depth. The first time that I read Emily’s work, I just remember being so struck by the yearning and the pining. I wrote in my notes, “This is like 1000-thread-count pining,” which I think is really hard to get in a contemporary novel. I’m a big romance reader myself, but I came mostly from historicals, so I think it’s really hard to get those stakes in when there are cell phones and modern conveniences involved. I think what she really does a beautiful job of doing in her books is kind of layering in these timeless themes of love and yearning and what makes us human, and then also making it feel contemporary and of its time.
How much did you get to work with Emily to bring People We Meet on Vacation to life?
Kuang: I mean, Emily was so great. It’s like, when you do a Jane Austen adaptation, or a Charlotte Brontë thing, you don’t have access to the author. Emily was so giving throughout, so anytime I needed to text her with a question or anything like that, she was always very happy to answer. But she was also very trusting, and so she really trusted me with the story and these characters. That meant so much to me because it meant I could try things.
As a reader, it was really wonderful to see so many moments that felt straight off the page. Were there any moments in the book that you felt like you absolutely needed to deliver in the adaptation?
Kuang: When they finally give in, in the rain, like that, cutting through [the tarp]. I always loved the metaphor of it, you know? The broken AC in their Airbnb, and you can only bring down the temperature one degree at a time. I always thought that was such a beautiful metaphor. And then the big romantic climax, when we finally cut through the canopy, plastic tarp, and the rain comes in, and they finally kiss. I remember the first time I saw the footage of it, I was just like, smacking our director, Brett Haley, on the arm like, “You did so good!”
On the other hand, were there any changes you felt like it was important to make from book to screen?
Kuang: I think the challenge with adaptations is always, how do you condense this beautiful story that exists in its own form? How do you turn that into a 90-minute to two-hour-long movie? I remember reading it and thinking, “Oh, this has more locations than a James Bond movie. What a compelling Rubik’s Cube.” So it was kind of a matter of figuring out which trips in particular we really wanted to unpack and expand, and what held the emotional throughline of the story. I think that was the main thing. Obviously, you can’t include everything, but you want to make sure you include all the important stuff.
Emma McIntyre / Getty Images
From the time they were announced, readers knew that Tom Blyth and Emily Bader were the perfect Poppy and Alex. Was there anything from their performances that changed your perspective on their characters?
Kuang: They’re just so good, they brought so much depth to the characters, and they’re so funny, too. I knew Tom’s work from The Hunger Games before, and a lot of TikTok Dramione edits, weirdly. So I knew he was a great dramatic actor, like he could clench those jaw muscles, but he’s very funny. And I thought that was really great. He brought this dry comedy to Alex that I think is such a huge part of the character, but not everybody would think to bring that to him. I think he’s really charming. And then Emily Bader, I mean, I had already seen her in My Lady Jane, and she’s a queen. She is so fabulous. But I thought she really brought a humanity to Poppy, you know? She grounded the performance, which was really, really lovely.
Poppy and Alex’s love story ends with them finally getting together after a decade of build-up. Do you think there is any potential for a People We Meet on Vacation sequel?
Kuang: I mean, that’s up to Netflix and Emily, but there’s a lot out there. We have a wedding sequence with the two grooms. I’d love to see how those two characters got together. And there’s Sarah, you know? She’s also a fascinating character. There are always people you can spin off.
I would also love to see what Alex and Poppy’s holidays look like because the most mundane trip, in some ways, is the trip home. They’re kind of like hometown sweethearts, without actually having been hometown sweethearts. So if it were up to me, I would want to see a Christmas [special] where they go back home for the holidays. That’s the trip. I want the winter vacation… People We Avoid on Winter Break. [Laughs]
Your novel, How to End a Love Story, follows writers Helen and Grant. If they were in the writers’ room for People We Meet on Vacation, what would Helen and Grant say about Poppy and Alex’s love story?
Kuang: Oh, man. I mean, I think the tension between the two of them would be that Helen would want it to be a very dramatic story. She would be like, “We have to play the angst and the drama and the emotional depth.” And then Grant would be like, “People are coming to this for a rom-com. We need jokes, Helen.” I think that’s the creative tension between the two of them. As for the ending, I think they’re romantics at heart, so I think they would be happy for Alex and Poppy.
Outside of the EmHen universe, are there any other romance novels you would love to adapt?
Kuang: Ooh, always. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell is one of my all-time favorites. It’s like a grounded Pride and Prejudice set in Industrial Revolution-era Manchester. Love that one. There’s also a historical romance I love called Hummingbird by Lavyrle Spencer. And it’s got one of the best premises I’ve ever read, where a train pulls into town, and two men get off. It’s maybe the 1800s in the Midwest, and they’ve both been shot. One is the man who saved the train from the robber, and the other is the robber. And the town spinster is the one who has to take them in because the hospital hasn’t been built yet. And everybody’s like, “You should get with the guy who saved the train from the robber.” But she’s really drawn to the robber. I love a desperate man, you know? Everybody should read it.
People We Meet on Vacation, Streaming Now, Netflix
