These days, John Prats has mainly focused on being a director behind several of the biggest OPM concerts, while Heart Evangelista is seen as an international fashion star. But for those who grew up in the 90s, the two were once a reel-and-real-life couple, appearing as a love team in projects such as Gimik and My First Romance, and while also dating for a few years.
It’s a chapter of their lives that their fans still hold close to their hearts, and one that they have been reminding people of with their recent nostalgia-filled throwbacks. But all those moments weren’t just to hop on a trend, as, after 23 years, Prats and Evangelista’s reunion is making way for a comeback movie they say might just be one of the most special projects they’ve ever worked on.
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What to Expect From John Prats and Heart Evangelista’s Reunion Movie
Set for a tentative release in February 2027, which is both love month and coincidentally their birth months, the film will star Evangelista and Prats, with the latter also serving as the movie’s director. It will be produced by Cornerstone Studios, the same company that gave the reunion movie The Loved One, which became a box office smash, with Irene Villamor serving as Creative Producer and Angel Thomas writing the script.
While more details have yet to be revealed, such as the rest of the cast and even its title, the movie will center on Nathan (Prats) and Gwen (Evangelista) and be based on The Three Loves Theory, which states that love comes in three stages: the puppy love akin to the first crush, the hard love which teaches you the important life lessons, and the lasting love, which is the love that you’re meant to be with.
What the movie looks to explore is how Nathan and Gwen try to defy the odds as they make their relationship last all the way until the end. “You think that your first love is something shallow and fleeting, but it’s so much deeper than that, and that’s what you will see in the movie: how pure love is just so intense,” shares Evangelista about the film.
But more than just another love story, the movie aims to differentiate itself in how it takes inspiration from the two lead stars’ own love story. While not necessarily autobiographical, the movie takes bits and pieces of Prats and Evangelista’s own experiences to shape the contours of the narrative, in a way asking what if they stayed together for years. As such, for a movie that’s unknowingly been in the works for 23 years, it mirrors parts of reality with a fictional tale that hits close to home. “It’s just such a special bond and relationship that we have with everyone and each other that makes this even more personal,” adds Evangelista.
It’s a noteworthy project in more ways than one for both actors involved. For Prats, not only is this his big-screen comeback after devoting the past few years to directing concerts, but also the first time he’s directing a film. After thinking he could move away from acting to focus on concert production, the project presented an unexpected but welcome opportunity to do something he’s never done before.
“Gusto ko yung pelikula na gagawin ko if ever it’s going to be my first movie, gusto ko yung gustong-gusto ko talaga, yung naniniwala ko talaga [If I were to direct a movie, which will be my first, it has to be one that I really like and fully believe in],” says Prats.
As for Evangelista, the movie marks her first proper on-screen film project in years, and a leading role at that. She admits that her time away from the silver screen was because she was waiting for that one movie that spoke to her, and it was this project that finally made her say yes to her first movie with Cornerstone. “It’s very personal,” the actress says about getting back into acting. “So, for me, there are a lot of adjustments, but to have John with me is 100% better.”
Filming has yet to begin, but already, the movie brings with it a lot of emotions for everyone involved, though not with the baggage. Early workshops felt like a reunion with an old friend, despite them not having a proper conversation until this year. The chemistry, they feel, is still there, and they see it as one of the best parts of the movie. That rapport has never left despite how abruptly their early years together came to an end, as if it was just lying dormant, waiting to be reactivated after all this time.
And even if both have gone through a lot in the succeeding 23 years, they feel that they haven’t changed who they are on the inside, which makes the reunion that much more personal to them. There’s a high level of vulnerability they say viewers should expect from the movie, with Evangelista even suggesting that it’ll be one of the only times she’ll let down her walls to let it all out. As she puts it, “Parang din lang kinukha nila yung diary ko tapos na magically nacreate into a script [It’s like they took my diary and magically turned it into a script].”
More importantly, Prats and Evangelista both feel that the movie, while aimed for all audiences, will particularly resonate with those who grew up watching them and grew up with them as a love story on all the things left unsaid. “Yung mga hindi nabigay namin nung time namin, ibibigay namin dito [The things we didn’t give during our time then, we will give it here],” expresses Prats.
Featured Image and Photos: HEART EVANGELISTA (via Instagram), Photographed by Andrei Suleik
