• Emily Henry addresses backlash over Patrick Schwarzenegger’s casting as Gus in the Beach Read adaptation during a TODAY interview.
  • While fans initially embraced Phoebe Dynevor's casting as January Andrews, many reacted negatively to Patrick being cast as Gus.
  • Director Yulin Kuang emphasizes the importance of on-screen chemistry, revealing Patrick and Phoebe’s dynamic convinced her he was the right choice.

Hello, remember last month when Patrick Schwarzenegger was announced for the role of Gus in the forthcoming Beach Read movie adaptation and the internet lost its mind? Well, author Emily Henry is finally weighing in on some diehard fans’ less-than-thrilled reaction to the casting decision.

During a May 19 appearance on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle, Emily was asked about the backlash to the casting news, to which Emily said, “I also have to sit back and let it unfold.”

She added, “I mean, it is our baby—the readers’ and my baby, but it’s also the filmmaker’s baby and the studio’s baby. I’m along for the ride with the readers, and we just have to trust the vision. I feel like Yulin Kuang, our writer-director, is so brilliant, and I know she’s gonna do an amazing job.”

When Phoebe Dynevor was cast as the other lead, January Andrews, earlier this year, fans were pretty pleased with the decision. But when Patrick was cast two months later, the backlash was swift—largely because the character of Augustus “Gus” Everett is described in the book as having “olive skin,” “messy, dark hair,” and a “husky voice,” which Patrick…does not.

In the official announcement on April 14, Deadline revealed, “The search for Gus was an extensive process that took place over many months, and while initially he was a dark horse candidate and an unexpected choice, Schwarzenegger’s tape and chemistry read with Dynevor blew away filmmakers and the studio.”

Writer-director Yulin Kuang also provided insight into the decision on Instagram, noting, in part, “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.”

She added, “The moment Patrick sat across from her, there was something electric in the room with us. ‘There’s magic to chase here,’ I wrote in my notes afterwards. I checked in with Phoebe after the reads and she said, ‘It’s obviously Patrick, isn’t it?’ and I thought to myself, ‘So she feels it too.’”

Beach Read (which is being filmed under the title Happily Ever After) will reportedly start filming in Toronto starting June 1 so…time will tell whether Patrick can win fans over!