The cast of the romantic comedy starring Nina Dobrev and Tyler Hoechlin is growing

The main cast of Tessa Bailey’s bestselling romantic comedy It Happened One Summer continues to come together. Gavin Leatherwood has joined the adaptation, currently filming in New York, in the role of Fox Thornton. Variety and Deadline announced the development on August 3rd.

With Leatherwood's addition, the four main characters of the film have been revealed: Nina Dobrev will play Piper Bellinger; Tyler Hoechlin will portray Brendan Taggart; Virginia Gardner will take on the role of Hannah Bellinger; and Leatherwood will play Fox Thornton.

Gavin Leatherwood cast as Fox Thornton

Fox enters the story as Brendan's close friend, a charismatic fisherman known for his flirtatious nature.

Leatherwood is particularly known for his roles in The Sex Lives of College Girls and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Director Peter Hutchings described the actor's addition as the missing piece of the puzzle for the team.

Leatherwood's casting is significant not only for the first film. Tessa Bailey’s second Bellinger Sisters novel, Hook, Line and Sinker, centers directly on the relationship between Fox and Hannah. With Virginia Gardner cast as Hannah, the actors for the second couple in the source series have already been determined. However, producers have yet to greenlight a second film.

Piper's Hollywood life crumbles overnight

It Happened One Summer begins with Piper Bellinger, who lives in the glamorous social scene of Los Angeles, losing her family's financial support after a scandal.

Piper is sent to a small coastal town in the Pacific Northwest with her sister Hannah and must revive the bar left behind by their deceased father. There, she encounters the sailor Brendan Taggart, who has no tolerance for her lifestyle.

In the film, Nina Dobrev plays Piper, while Tyler Hoechlin plays Brendan, thus preserving the conflict between the urban socialite at the center of the book and the introverted small-town sailor.

BookTok success reaches 2 million sales

Published in 2021, It Happened One Summer has become one of the romantic comedies that continues to sell years after its debut, thanks to TikTok's book community, BookTok.

Sales of the book in the U.S. have surpassed 2 million copies. The novel is also the first book in Bailey’s Bellinger Sisters series; Hook, Line and Sinker, which tells the story of Fox and Hannah, was published in 2022.

Due to this strong readership, the casting choices for the adaptation are being closely followed on social media even before filming begins.

The Hating Game director behind the camera

The film is directed by Peter Hutchings, who also directed another popular romantic novel adaptation, The Hating Game. Production is currently ongoing in New York.

The release date for It Happened One Summer has not yet been announced.

With Gavin Leatherwood's addition, the production has not only expanded the main cast of the first book centered on Piper and Brendan; it has also already established the screen counterparts for the prominent Fox-Hannah duo in the sequel novel.