Heartstopper Forever: Everything We Know So Far

We always knew it would have to happen eventually: Charlie and Nick’s love story will draw to a close on Netflix later this month. But not in the way we imagined. Instead of season 4 of Heartstopper, there is a feature film on its way.

Here’s what we know about the future of Alice Oseman’s beloved boy-meets-boy series, one of Britain’s best-loved LGBTQ+ TV series.

Heartstopper Forever will detail the final chapter in Charlie and Nick’s love story. (Netflix)

Heartstopper Forever: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

There won’t be a fourth season of Heartstopper – but there will be a feature film. Netflix revealed the news on 22 April 2025, exactly three years after season 1’s premiere, despite strong belief from fans and commentators that season 4 would get the go ahead.

The British coming-of-age series has been a global phenomenon for the streaming platform, shining a golden beam on its ensemble cast of characters, helmed by Joe Locke as Charlie and Kit Connor as Nick. After the first season’s immediate success, the show received a rare double renewal, meaning season 3, which just dropped on 3 October 2024, was on the cards as early as 2022.

‘I am completely overjoyed that we will get to tell the end of the Heartstopper story,’ creator Alice Oseman says on Heartstopper Forever. ‘I’m so grateful to everyone who has worked hard to make this possible and to the incredible fans of Heartstopper for your patience and passion. I cannot wait to bring this story to a magical conclusion.’

Elle (Yasmin Finney), Charlie (Joe Locke), Isaac (Tobie Donovan) and Tao (William Gao) are all navigating older teenage life. (Netflix)

Why Is A Film Replacing Season 4?

With success for a series comes a spotlight on its actors, and our leading duo Locke and Connor surely have jam-packed schedules these days. The former has appeared in Agatha All Along (2024), Sweeney Todd on Broadway (also 2024) and Clarkston on the West End (2025), with film roles on the horizon. Conner meanwhile has starred in Romeo & Juliet on Broadway (2024), has had voice roles in The Wild Robot (2024) and His Dark Materials (2019–22) and starred in Alex Garland’s Warfare (2025), and again has further roles in the pipeline.

With Locke unknown prior to the series and Connor a relative newcomer, the young actors’ raised profile is in part thanks to the fan reception to the series and its positive impact on LGBTQ+ representation in the media. So it was unsettling for Netflix when season 3 did not attract as many viewers as the streamer was used to – 30 percent less, to be precise. This, combined with expired contracts for Locke and Connor means greenlighting Heartstopper season 4 wasn’t as clear-cut as we might have thought from the outside.

Change is on the horizon for Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor), who will soon be heading off to uni. (Netflix)

In the light of these conflicting factors, creator Oseman commented in February 2025 she was ‘working very hard behind the scenes to get us a renewal for Heartstopper‘.

‘It is still ongoing, we don’t have a final answer yet, but there are so many people behind the scenes who are working really hard to make it happen,’ the writer-artist added. ‘We’re feeling optimistic, we’re feeling hopeful, and hopefully we’ll be able to share some news about that sometime soon. Fingers crossed.’

‘I’d definitely like to do it as long as it’s done right,’ Connor previously said on the prospect of season 4. ‘I just want to make sure that we keep the heart in it. So, we are working on something, and hopefully we’re making it happen.’

Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell) in Heartstopper Forever. (Netflix)

What Will Happen In Heartstopper Forever?

Season 3 ends on an, ahem, high note – and that was totally purposeful. ‘It’s such a nice, emotional end to the season,’ Joe Locke told Netflix. ‘I’m really glad that it ended up that way.’

In Alice Oseman’s graphic novels, however, Volume 4 – which season 3 is based on – ends on more of an uncertain note: Nick has a decision to make about university, and the threat of a long distance relationship hangs in the air.

As always, Heartstopper has been written by Oseman. This time, however, Locke and Connor have signed on as executive producers for the first time, meaning they had a little more control in the film’s outcome. ‘These characters have meant a lot to us over the years. As EPs, it feels like we can really say goodbye to them in a way that feels the most right,’ Conner explains. ‘It is bittersweet, but it is also a really nice way of ending it.’

According to Netflix, the Heartstopper movie will wrap up the duo’s journey. But with Nick set to leave for uni and Charlie finding new independence at school, the reality of a long-distance relationship sets in…

Watch the trailer below for a taste of the action.

As Oseman puts it: ‘The movie will be an exploration of time, memory, love, pain, the changing of the seasons, endings and beginnings, and the core element of Heartstopper: the ordinary magic of our everyday lives.’

Joe Locke as Charlie & Toby Donovan as Isaac in Heartstopper season 3. (Samuel Dore/Netflix)

Which Books Is It Based On?

The entirety of Heartstopper is based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novel series of the same name. Heartstopper Forever is specifically based on the series’ final two instalments: Volume 5 and Volume 6, the latter of which has hit the shelves (today, 2 July) just in time for the film.

Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) in Heartstopper Forever. (Netflix)

Is It The End?

The Heartstopper movie is the end of Charlie and Nick’s story – but that doesn’t necessarily mean we will be saying goodbye to the so-called Osemanverse.

Oseman has three more novels set in the same universe but exploring characters away from Nick and Charlie’s lives: Radio Silence (2016), I Was Born For This (2018) and Loveless (2020). If Netflix wants to keep the success of Heartstopper going, we could well see screen adaptations of these works, too. All remains to be seen.

Yasmin Finney as Elle & Will Gao as Tao in Heartstopper season 3. (Samuel Dore/Netflix)

The Cast

It will be a last hurrah for the core Heartstopper cast. We expect the following stars to return:

• Kit Connor as Nick Nelson
• Joe Locke as Charlie Spring
• Yasmin Finney as Elle Argent
• William Gao as Tao Xu
• Corinna Brown as Tara Jones
• Kizzy Edgell as Darcy Olsson
• Tobie Donovan as Isaac Henderson
• Jenny Walser as Tori Spring
• Darragh Hand as Michael Holden
• Rhea Norwood as Imogen Heaney

Jenny Walser as Tori in Heartstopper season 3. (Samuel Dore/Netflix)

How Many Heartstopper Books Are There?

If you simply can’t wait for the Heartstopper movie, it’s time to turn to the written word. In total, there are six volumes of Heartstopper, a graphic novel written and illustrated by Alice Oseman.

But that’s not all: Oseman has been working in this universe since her debut novel, Solitaire, was published back in 2014. That book centres on Tori Spring, Charlie’s older sister, and her relationship with Michael, which we see glimpses of in Heartstopper season 3. But Oseman found herself evermore drawn deeper into the side plot: Charlie and Nick’s relationship, publishing a novella titled Nick and Charlie in 2015. But, as we well know, it didn’t end there.

Oseman has been working on other books in the same universe in between: one exploring ‘study machine’ Frances at Truham, one following a fangirl called Angel, and one following a girl called Georgia as she heads off to university.

With novellas sprinkled in between, that brings us to a total of 11 books in the Oseman verse. They are, in timeline order:

• Heartstopper: Volume 1 (2018)
• Heartstopper: Volume 2 (2019)
• Heartstopper: Volume 3 (2020)
• This Winter (2015)
• Heartstopper: Volume 4 (2021)
• Solitaire (2014)
• Heartstopper: Volume 5 (2023)
• Heartstopper: Volume 6 (release date TBC)
• Nick and Charlie (2015)
• Radio Silence (2016)
• I Was Born For This (2018)
• Loveless (2020)

Heartstopper Forever Movie Release Date

The Heartstopper movie will premiere on Netflix on 17 July 2026.

All three seasons of Heartstopper are streaming now on Netflix. netflix.com