Heartstopper Forever: What to know about the YA series' cinematic send-off

What is the new ‘Heartstopper’ movie about?

Penned by Oseman — who also wrote and served as showrunner for the TV series — Heartstopper Forever picks up right after the emotional finale of season 3, which aired in late 2024. Over the course of season 3, Nick (Conner) and Charlie (Locke), classmates at Truham Grammar School for Boys, take things to the next level, building up to the final episodes, during which they consummate their tender romance. But the season ended with the sense that the couple’s newly reaffirmed bond could be challenged in the very near future, given that the slightly older Nick is headed off to university in no time.

And it’s not just the popular rugby star who is positioned to start a new, solo chapter at the end of season 3. Although he was very much an outsider at the start of season 1, Charlie has progressively found his footing at school over the course of the show. Rather than being hounded by homophobic bullies in the final season, he spends his time at and outside of school surrounded by paired-up friends Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney); Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell); and Imogen (Rhea Norwood) and Sahar Zahid (Leila Khan). And while that doesn’t mean his teenage years have suddenly become smooth sailing — as evidenced by the eating disorder and other mental health challenges he experiences in the season — it does appear that the once-shy overthinker is ready to spread his wings.

Now, Charlie will have a chance to see what life is like without Nick by his side — and vice versa — which could complicate things for the couple. After all, they have struggled to be away from each other almost from their first meet-cute in the British equivalent of homeroom.

“The most pressing issue for Nick and Charlie, as we know from the end of season 3, is that Nick will soon be leaving for university, effectively making Nick and Charlie a long-distance couple,” Oseman said in a recent interview with Netflix’s Tudum.

“For a teenage relationship, this is a pretty huge hurdle to overcome. Each of them has some conflicting feelings about this development. Nick isn’t sure who he is without Charlie, and Charlie is nervous about being left behind. They have some work to do — both on their relationship and individually,” she said, also teasing that “Heartstopper’s other protagonists are facing similar conundrums about their futures. Because it’s not just the relationships that are being pulled in different directions, but the friendships, too.”

Is Olivia Colman starring in ‘Heartstopper Forever’? And who else can fans expect to see in the cast?

Speaking of Heartstopper’s other protagonists, fans will be happy to hear that, in addition to Connor and Locke, the series’ core cast of supporting actors will be reprising their roles in the new film. Alongside Gao, Finney, Brown, Edgell, Norwood, and Khan, Tobie Donovan will return as Charlie’s longtime best friend Isaac, and Darragh Hand and Jenny Walser will once again play Michael and Tori, the protagonists of Oseman’s debut novel, Solitaire. There will also be some more mature familiar faces on screen, with Fisayo Akinade and Nima Taleghani starring as the series’ fan-favorite teachers Mr. Ajayi and Mr. Farouk.

For viewers wondering whether beloved British actor Olivia Colman, who stole the show as Nick’s fiercely loyal mother in seasons 1 and 2, might make an appearance, the answer is sadly no. However, newcomer Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House) will be taking over the role of Sarah Nelson in the film — meaning the all-important relationship between Nick and his mom will once again be seen on screen, after the show chose not to recast the character for season 3.

“When beginning to work on the Heartstopper Forever screenplay, I knew how important it was that Sarah, Nick’s mum, appeared in the story. Since season 1, we have seen how close Nick is with his mum; she’s one of the few people he can turn to in moments of crisis. While in season 3, we were able to tweak the story to avoid any appearance of Sarah, it felt nonsensical for her to be absent from this final chapter, given some of the emotional struggles Nick faces,” Oseman told Tudum of the casting decision earlier this year.

“Sadly, Olivia Colman was not able to join us for the film, so we made the very difficult decision to recast the role, rather than exclude the character. We are deeply grateful for Olivia's beautiful performance as Sarah in seasons 1 and 2 of Heartstopper, through such iconic moments as Nick coming out as bisexual, and we know that her performance will live on in the hearts of every Heartstopper fan,” she said.

Fellow Travelers and Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey, who made a guest appearance as a dashing classics scholar in season 3, will also unfortunately be absent from Heartstopper’s cinematic send-off. Though, British acting royalty Sir. Derek Jacobi will appear in an undisclosed cameo role.

Is the ‘Heartstopper’ book series complete?

Like the three seasons of the TV series, Heartstopper Forever is ripped from the pages of Oseman’s wildly popular graphic novel series about coming-of-age, first loves, and queer friendship. Specifically, the film is primarily based on the contents of the final Heartstopper book, Volume 6, which is publishing in the U.S. and Canada on July 7, following its U.K. debut.

As she did with previous installments of the graphic novel series, Oseman progressively released Volume 6 as a free web comic ahead of its official publication by Hachette. And at the beginning of July, she teased just how much fans might be able to glean about the movie by taking a look. “I’ve been uploading the Heartstopper Volume 6 comics free-to-read on their usual webcomic platform... So, if you’re looking for hints about what might happen in the movie, I’d recommend checking those out,” she said. “Of course, there will be some tweaks for the movie, as there always are in adaptations… But I’ll leave those a surprise for now.”

Those comments followed other instances of Oseman — who also said in July, “when I started planning this final book, I told myself I was allowed to include anything and everything I’d always wanted to explore with these characters” — playing up how much the movie will diverge from its source text. Just after filming wrapped, around the time Connor teased the possibility of “quite a steamy scene” to VMan magazine, the author and illustrator told readers that there would be “quite a few surprises” waiting for them in the film.

So it seems even those who have already read — and reread — Volume 6 won’t exactly know what’s coming when Connor and Locke reunite as Nick and Charlie on screen for presumably the last time. But given Connor’s comments, and the fact that things have gotten notably more heated between the young leads, it’s probably safe to assume that there will be at least some heavy petting to satisfy besotted fans.

When is ‘Heartstopper Forever’ coming out?

Heartstopper Forever will release globally on Netflix July 17. In the meantime, you can get a glimpse of Nick, Charlie, and the rest of the Heartstopper gang in their farewell performance in the trailer ahead.