Ethan Hawke Says There’s Still Ideas For A 4th ‘Before’ Film, But The Story Hasn’t Been Cracked Yet

Despite the presumed thought that the Richard Linklater ‘Before’ trilogy is over, maybe due in part because of comments Julie Delpy has made semi-recently, suggesting she nixed the idea, actor Ethan Hawke seems to be still open about the potential to continue the romantic journey of star-crossed lovers Jesse and Céline that started with the 1995 film “Before Sunrise.” While Delpy sounded pretty cynical about the entire thing last time she was asked, Hawke suggests there’s still life in the tank for the franchise.

While speaking with GQ Magazine, Hawke dished that they’ve even considered making a new film set during the pandemic or even if someone “bad” happened to one of the two characters in the beloved romantic saga. Hawke doesn’t seem too upset about potentially ending things with “Before Midnight,” but if something does strike, all three would have to agree upon that concept being the right thing to do.

READ MORE: Julie Delpy Turned Down A 4th ‘Before’ Film With Richard Linklater Because She’s Exhausted By The Industry

“We constantly daydream about a possible right idea,” Hawke said of a potential fourth story. “Like, the reason why the first three happened so organically is we all mysteriously wanted to write the same movie. But we’ve never had the same idea .” When asked if there have been ideas, he says, “Sure, ideas have been put forward — like, wow, what if Jesse and Céline were in quarantine. We put forward ideas like, what if something bad happened to one of us?”

The actor also understands they left things on a high note, and maybe they should be left that way.

“We’re so proud of them, to be honest, we really worked hard on them,” he explained. “And we feel like we don’t want to pour any water in the beer. You wouldn’t want to make a bad fourth one…There might be a moment to hit, you know, the last stage of life. That would be the time to find.”

Last summer, Delpy revealed she passed on a fourth film after her exhaustion with the industry, and it could very well end there. Time is the most significant question mark here. Will the trio even want to get together for a fourth movie down the line, or will they simply want to keep the door open to potentially work on something else entirely instead? It sounds like it might just come down to time and distance and the trio agreeing on a path forward.