A young man and a woman, both white, hold each other in a near-kiss embrace. After premiered at The Grove in Los Angeles after thanksgiving meme April 8, 2019. The film launched the After film series.

Tessa Young begins her freshman year of college by moving into her dorm room with the help of her mother, Carol, and her boyfriend, Noah. During this process she meets her new roommate Steph and Steph’s girlfriend Tristan. The day after, Tessa shares a brief encounter with Steph’s friend, Hardin Scott. The following day Tessa meets with Landon, a classmate she met on her first day of classes, who reveals to her that he and Hardin are soon to become stepbrothers, with his mother engaged to Hardin’s father. Following a class debate Hardin again approaches Tessa and insists they start over, inviting her to a nearby lake. While they swim, Hardin kisses Tessa, saying that they cannot remain only friends. The next day Tessa returns to her dorm to check on Noah, who discovers her affair with Hardin and leaves her, heartbroken.

Tessa and Hardin finally decide to date, but her mother threatens to cut her off financially if she continues the relationship, believing Hardin to be a bad influence. Hardin finds an apartment for the two to live together and they attend his father’s wedding reception. Tessa attempts to confront him, but he dismisses her and leaves. After leaving the apartment searching for him, Tessa finds him at a diner with Molly, Zed, Steph, and Jace. Molly cruelly reveals Hardin’s true intentions by showing Tessa a video from the first party they attended, telling that Hardin only pursued Tessa as a challenge, intending to make her fall in love with him before breaking her heart. Heartbroken Tessa returns home to reconcile with her mother and Noah, who both forgive her. In the weeks that follow, Tessa cuts ties with Steph and her group of friends, eventually interviewing for an internship at Vance Publishing.

Tessa returns to the lake to meet Hardin. In 2013, author Anna Todd posted the first chapters of a fanfiction titled After on fanfiction- and fiction-publishing website Wattpad. On May 8, 2018, Julia Goldani Telles and Hero Fiennes Tiffin were cast in the main roles of Tessa Young and Hardin Scott respectively. The actors were selected by the production team, including Todd herself, who was present at the castings and contributed to the casting decisions. In July 2018, Telles announced her exit from the film due to scheduling conflicts.

In the same month, Josephine Langford was announced to play Tessa Young. Todd would later state that once she saw Langford, she “knew right away that was Tessa. Principal photography was due to begin in June 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. In early July, producer Jennifer Gibgot stated that shooting would begin on July 16, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia shortly after Langford had been cast as Tessa. After premiered at The Grove in Los Angeles on April 8, 2019, and was released in the United States on April 12, 2019, by Aviron Pictures.