Everything we know about the Love Actually sequel

Feel it in your fingers: After 14 years, the cast of Love Actually reunited to film a quasi-sequel to Richard Curtis’ 2003 holiday classic. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming part-reunion, part-sequel to Love Actually — which original cast member Andrew Lincoln has described to EW as a “little mini-revival.” Take a look at the new teaser above and read on for a full breakdown of what to expect.

When

Red Nose Day, Actually premiered Friday in the U.K. on BBC One as part of Red Nose Day; the “sequel” will air in America on NBC’s Red Nose Day Special on May 25.

Where

From the looks of the teaser and some photos from set it looks like everyone’s still in London.

Returning Cast

A majority of the cast will return for the sequel, including Liam Neeson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Olivia Olson, Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Keira Knightley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Andrew Lincoln, Colin Firth, Lúcia Moniz, Bill Nighy, and Rowan Atkinson

Behind the scenes, writer-director Richard Curtis is once again at the helm of this project. Emma Freud, Curtis’ wife and script editor on the original, wrote penning the script for the sequel.

Who Won’t Be Back

While plenty of the cast is coming back, quite a few will be absent from the sequel as well — including Emma Thompson and the late Alan Rickman. Rickman died last January, and Thompson, who played his onscreen wife, has said returning would be “too sad.” During the U.K. premiere of Beauty and the Beast, Thompson told Reuters, “Richard wrote to me and said, ‘Darling, I can’t write anything for you ’cause of Alan,’ and I said, ‘No, of course, of course, you can’t.’ It would be sad, too sad. It’s too soon. You know, it’s absolutely right.”

The pair also worked together on Sense and Sensibility (1995), Rickman’s directorial debut, The Winter Guest (1996), and the Harry Potter franchise.

Other stars absent from the reunion include, Martin Freeman, Laura Linney, Rodrigo Santoro, and perhaps Kris Marshall. The actor played Colin in the original film, who travels to Wisconsin to meet some real American women (including January Jones and Elisha Cuthbert). Regarding where present-day Colin would be, Curtis has said, “I’m assuming that he’s in prison now. But I hope I’m wrong.”

Plot

The short is essentially an extended epilogue to the film, set 14 years after the events of Love Actually.

Curtis has been pretty tight-lipped on the particulars, though he did say, “We hope to make something that’ll be fun and which we hope will help bring lots of viewers and cash to the Red Nose Day shows.”

Behind the Scenes

For details on the sequel, look no further than Freud. Back in 2015, Freud revealed some tidbits about the first film. More recently, she’s been satisfying fans’ Love Actually cravings with behind-the-scenes pictures from the set, as well as some hints about the characters. Take a look below.