Ethan Hawke Is Ready To Return For 4th Film In Before Series, But Has A Condition

Ethan Hawke was last seen in direct-to-OTT release, Leave the World Behind. The apocalypse-themed thriller only made for one of three releases the actor saw through that year, others being Strange Way of Life and Wildcat. The latter of the two did not feature Hawk, but was written, directed and produced by him. The actor recently opened up about the possibility of reprising his role of Jesse Wallace from the Before franchise.

Ethan Hawke has a contingency for returning to the Before franchise

In a conversation with Indiewire, Ethan Hawke opened up about what it would take for him to return to the Before franchise for a fourth film. Hawke shared how in spirit, he was already on board for a fourth Before film - the only condition he had however, was that director Richard Linklater too return to the franchise, and approach him with a script. 

He added, "Definitely. The whole reason those movies worked the way they did is because all three of us were like-minded. It would have to be the three of us all feeling the same impulse". Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004) are available for rent on Amazon Prime Video.

Julie Delpy too has addressed the possibility of returning for a fourth film

Not just Ethan Hawke, the possibility of the Before franchise expanding with a fourth film, has also been addressed by its female lead, Julie Delpy. In an interview with Variety back in 2021, the actress had opened up why a fourth Before film did not materialise. Thankfully, there was no drama per se involved in the decision - the team had simply not been able to come up with an enticing enough story. 

She said, "What happened was that we - all three of us - agreed that we couldn’t come up with something good for a fourth one. It’s that simple. We didn’t fight. We’re not on bad terms. Everyone’s happy…It’s so much drama for nothing. We just didn’t come up with a good idea".