Joey King announces The Kissing Booth 3 is coming in 2021 with original cast

Surprise! The Kissing Booth 3 was shot in South Africa at the same time as the popular Netflix romantic comedy's second installment — which means the third film will hit theaters as early as 2021.

Joey King and costar Joel Courtney hosted a special fan event with Netflix on Sunday, confirming the surprise new film and that the entire cast will be returning. The special event was also attended by King's small screen love interest Jacob Elordi, her best friends Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Taylor Zakhar Perez, and Meganne Young, and director Vince Marcello.

"It's true!" exclaimed King. "You guys, I just want to thank the fans for their tremendous support and the love they have shown us and the amazing franchise. From the first movie to the second one just coming out on Friday. I mean, the explosion of love have been so real. And it's because of everyone on here that this all happened, really."

She added, "And I have a little extra piece of info that may be exciting for some. The Kissing Booth 3 will be released in 2021."

The Kissing Booth films are based on the self-published Beth Reekles novels that follow the life of high school student Elle Evans (King). In the first two installments, she meets, falls for, and dates high school jock Noah (Elordi). The third installment tackles Elle's challenges in deciding where she will attend college. She's been accepted to both Harvard — the same school her Noah will attend — and Berkeley, where BFF Lee (Young) has matriculated. Where will she go?

Check out the first clip of the third film above.

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