Actor Alden Richards and Kathryn Bernardo during the press conference of Star Cinema's "Hello, Love, Goodbye" at the Dolphy Theatre on July 9, 2019. Michael Bagtas, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA (UPDATED) — ABS-CBN's Star Cinema and GMA Pictures are uniting for the sequel of the hit film "Hello, Love, Goodbye," the two film houses confirmed Sunday.

As first reported by Deadline, the sequel will be titled "Hello, Love, Again." It will be released on November 13 in the Philippines, with international releases to follow.

Kapamilya star Kathryn Bernardo and Kapuso actor Alden Richards will reprise their roles as Joy and Ethan, respectively. Cathy Garcia-Sampana will also return to direct the sequel.

The first film was released in theaters in 2019. "Hello, Love, Goodbye" ended with Joy pursuing a career in medicine while Ethan opened his own business. Viewers were left hanging whether they ended up together or not.

"I am as excited as all of you perhaps, to find out what Joy and Ethan had gone through after Hello, Love, Goodbye and will be going through in 'Hello, Love, Again,'" Garcia-Sampana said in the Deadline report.

This is the latest partnership between ABS-CBN and GMA after the 2023 teleserye "Unbreak My Heart," and after the noontime show "It's Showtime" began airing on the Kapuso channel earlier this year.

"This also marks the beginning of our beautiful collaboration with GMA Pictures, who share the same passion with us in telling stories for the Filipino audience worldwide," Kriz Gazmen, Head of Star Cinema, told Deadline.

According to Deadline, the sequel will be set five years after the events of the first film.

"After fighting for their love to conquer the time, distance and a global shutdown that kept them apart, Joy and Ethan meet again in Canada but realize that they have also changed a lot, individually," Deadline reported.

"Hello, Love, Goodbye" was the highest-grossing Philippine film of all time until January 2024, when it was surpassed by "Rewind."

READ: Marian-Dingdong movie 'Rewind' is now the highest grossing Filipino film of all time

Speculations that there would be a sequel to the blockbuster film started in early April, when Garcia-Sampana posted a video of herself at the Hong Kong International Airport. 

After their Hong Kong trip, Garcia-Sampana visited Calgary, Canada with the team behind the 2019 film.

READ: 'Hello, Love Goodbye' writer, director arrive in Hong Kong

READ: After Hong Kong, 'Hello, Love Goodbye' writer, director visit Canada

Just last week, Richards had expressed his hope for a sequel for the film, while at the same time remaining mum when asked if he was courting Bernardo.

READ: Alden Richards hopeful for a 'Hello, Love, Goodbye' sequel

news.abs-cbn.com is the official news website of ABS-CBN Corp. 

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