The After universe was supposed to end with After Everything. The film wrapped Hardin and Tessa’s story, delivered emotional closure, and gave fans the conclusion they thought they needed. But the internet has proven something undeniable since the credits rolled: closure and obsession don’t always coexist. And in this case, closure might not even be the point.
Now the conversation dominating the fandom isn’t about the ending anymore. It’s about the future. One question keeps resurfacing, louder than any official announcement ever could:
Do fans want After Everything to return in 2026 with a new love story for Hardin Scott?
The short answer? Yes.
The complicated answer? Also yes, but with emotional consequences.
Why 2026 Feels Like the Right Time
Franchises end every year. Fandoms move on every year. But After fans have proven they operate on a different emotional calendar. The connection to Hardin Scott — shaped by vulnerability, trauma, self-sabotage, intense romance, and redemption — didn’t dissolve when the story did. It simply evolved into a new form of longing.
2026 isn’t just another year to fans. It represents distance from the original ending, enough time for curiosity to morph into demand. Hardin is a character built on emotional turbulence, and the idea of revisiting him after a time jump fits the franchise DNA perfectly.
A new love story in 2026 wouldn’t feel like a reboot. It would feel like aftershock.
Hardin Without Tessa: Who Is He Now?
This is the core of the debate. Fans don’t just want romance. They want Hardin in romance, which is very different.
A Hardin Scott love story comes with rules no one ever formally agreed to, but everyone understands:
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He doesn’t fall smoothly. He falls violently.
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He doesn’t love peacefully. He loves destructively until healed.
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He doesn’t speak romance. He wears it on his face.
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He isn’t healed by love. He is rebuilt by it.
So the question fans are really asking is this:
If Hardin loves again in 2026, will it save him, destroy him, or become the emotional storm that redefines him once more?
And the fandom doesn’t want it any other way.
The Case for a New Love Interest
A significant portion of fans believes Hardin deserves a new emotional mirror, someone who meets him in his complexity, not his history. Tessa was his first love. But a 2026 return could explore a different Hardin — older, self-aware, emotionally weaponized, and possibly more dangerous because he finally understands the effect he has on people.
Fans imagine a new love interest who:
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Challenges him instead of softening him immediately
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Sees through his silence without needing explanation
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Forces growth through emotional collision
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Doesn’t replace Tessa, but unlocks a new Hardin
Because if After returns, it can’t repeat the past. It needs to rewrite the emotional chemistry.
Not Tessa 2.0.
Not a love triangle for nostalgia.
Not a clean romance.
But a new love that feels like a narrative earthquake.
The Emotional Risk Fans Are Willing to Take
Here’s the truth: fans don’t want Hardin happy immediately. They want Hardin earned-happy. The franchise built its identity on love forged through pain, mistakes, fallout, and emotional rebuilding. A 2026 return offers a new emotional gamble:
Can Hardin Scott love again without burning the world down first?
Fans want to watch him try.
Because the drama was never a side effect of the story.
It was the reason the story worked.
Why the Fandom Needs This Return More Than the Franchise Does
This isn’t just about romance. It’s about unfinished emotional investment.
Hardin Scott is one of the few romance characters fans analyze like a psychological case file:
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He makes the wrong choices intentionally
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He apologizes like a man who knows words may fail
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He heals like someone crawling out of emotional rubble
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He loves like someone terrified it might slip away again
A 2026 return with new love means revisiting not just romance, but identity. The fandom wants to witness the transformation, the vulnerability, the breakdown, the rebuild, the moment he realizes love might not be the enemy anymore.
And if a new love story is coming, fans are clear about one thing:
Don’t make it gentle. Make it true.
So, Do Fans Want It?
Let’s put it plainly:
They want Hardin back.
They want love back.
They want chaos back.
They want the storm — just a new one, with a different name.
Because in this universe, love isn’t a destination.
It’s a comeback story.
