Director Vince Marcello has reportedly announced that The Kissing Booth 3 will culminate the franchise's core coming-of-age story. The Kissing Booth film series is an adaptation of Beth Reekles' hit teen-romance novel series of the same name. The Netflix rom-com line kicked off in May 2018, with the release of the original Kissing Booth film. The movie narrated the story of high school student Elle Evans (Joey King), who falls in love with her best friend's (Joel Courtney) older brother, Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi). Despite being panned by critics, the movie amassed a huge fan following, prompting Marcello to come up with a follow-up feature. The Kissing Booth 2, subsequently, premiered in July 2020.

The Kissing Booth 2 revolved around Elle and Noah's long-distance relationship while highlighting the characters' respective struggles in high-school and college. The film debuted to immense popularity on Netflix, perching atop the streamer's Top 10 list internationally. It was due to this overwhelming fame of The Kissing Booth 2 that Netflix ordered a third installment for the film series only days after the launch of its second part. Initially, fans were anxious that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic would jeopardize and delay the premiere of The Kissing Booth 3. However, Courtney revealed that the filming for the forthcoming film had already secretly taken place back-to-back with The Kissing Booth 2, and the movie is now tipped for a 2021 release. Now Marcello has teased the third film in the trilogy.

Marcello, in a recent conversation with Variety, dished out some details about the upcoming Kissing Booth film. And, in his discourse, he allegedly pointed towards the wrap-up of a significant story arc. In his talk, Marcello revealed that although the film series is primarily a rom-com, it's core motif has always been a coming-of-age plotline. The Kissing Booth 3, however, will culminate this recurring theme and offer all the lead characters a safe passage out of adolescence. Marcello believes that although the paths of the leads characters intervene, "each has their own journey with a set of challenges that they need to overcome." Only then, the characters can begin a"new journey into adulthood.”

Marcello did not explicitly mention about ending the Kissing Booth franchise after a third film, but his dialogues mutedly suggested the idea. The prolific director is grateful to fans for showering their love on his movies, and he credits them for developing The Kissing Booth series into a brand. Marcello wants to conclude The Kissing Booth with a definitive, jubilant, sentimentally-rewarding ending, because that, he believes, is something that the franchise's fans deserve.

While the first two Kissing Booth films haven't gotten stellar reviews, closing out the film franchise by finishing the coming-of-age arc is probably a good move. Fans may love the characters in the movies, but giving the series more than three films may be pushing it. Sure, The Kissing Booth 4 could focus on a more adult-themed storyline, but Netflix may be better off investing their time and money into a fresh franchise at that point. Regardless of what happens to the franchise after The Kissing Booth 3, it's reassuring to hear that the director seems to have a solid plan to close out a significant story arc.