“The After universe just keeps expanding,” writer and director Castille Landon tells Teen Vogue. “The fandom, and how excited they are and their input, it really does inspire us all as creators every single day.” While the love story between Tessa (Josephine Langford) and Hardin (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin) was initially brought to life by author Anna Todd, the new additions to the After movie franchise will expand the universe. The prequel will be loosely based on Todd's book from the perspective of Hardin, Before, but Landon promises to dig much deeper into his backstory. “He’s gone through a lot of trauma in his family life and in his relationships, and [we’ll] see more of that messiness before he meets Tessa, and how that experience changes him,” she said.