There’s not much Lukas Gage can share about the People We Meet on Vacation — but he teases that Emily Henry fans will be “very happy” with the movie.
The Netflix adaption of Emily Henry’s bestselling novel of the same name is set to premiere next month. Emily Bader stars as protagonist Poppy Wright alongside Tom Blyth, who plays her eventual love interest Alex Nilsen.
It was announced in September 2024 that Gage, 30, was set to join the cast. While the name of his character has yet to be revealed, Lukas gave Us Weekly some exclusive information during an interview earlier this year.
“If you remember in the book, Poppy meets a couple [of] love interests on her trips around the world with Alex,” Gage teased at the time. “I play one of the love interests that she meets along the way, and that’s all I can tell you. I’m giving you a lot more than I’m giving most people.”
Not only did Gage say it was “such a fun film” to be a part of, but he praised Bader’s portrayal of Poppy after seeing “little bits” of the final product.
“I think [she’s] gonna be a complete superstar,” he said. “And the movie’s incredible.”
Lukas Gage Netflix
People We Meet on Vacation will be the first onscreen adaptation for one of Henry’s novels. (Her books Beach Read, Book Lovers, Happy Place and Funny Story all have adaptations in the works.)
“I’m so excited for people to see Tom and Emily as these characters because they have fundamentally shifted the characters in my mind in a really great way,” Henry, 34, told Vogue this past April. “They have so embodied them that there are now new levels to these characters than there were before.”
Henry said she keeps being asked about the “if a lot had to change” when adapting the book.
“The truth is, one of the things I’m most excited about with the People We Meet on Vacation adaptation is that there are some new scenes that are so wonderful,” she teased. “That, for readers, means they get extra Alex and Poppy content that didn’t previously exist. It all works, but it’s new. And that’s just a really fun treat I didn’t expect to feel this excited about.”
The author explained that her “main anxiety” with adaptations is the fan reactions.
“I just want them to be happy. The book exists; that’s mine. I had total control over that.,” she explained. “The adaptation can’t be that, but as long as they love it, then it’s a success to me.”
Henry said that she’s had a “really rewarding experience” working with her collaborators — including People We Meet on Vacation writer Yulin Kuang — on the adaptation process, but made it clear that she “for sure” wants to work on her own projects as well.
“Some are in the works that I’m writing on,” she teased. “I’m excited to do some of my own too.”
People We Meet on Vacation premieres via Netflix on January 9.
