Joey King on How 'The In Between' Is a Modern Day Twist on 'Ghost' (Exclusive)

Joey King stars in a new romance movie, The In Between, but in some ways it's an homage to a classic film. The 22-year-old actress, who also served as a producer on the Paramount+ flick, plays Tessa, a teenage girl, who after surviving a car accident that took the life of her boyfriend, Skylar (Kyle Allen), believes he’s attempting to reconnect with her from the afterworld.

"It’s an homage to Ghost," King told ET's Rachel Smith of the 1990 Oscar-nominated movie, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. "We wanted to make the YA [young adult], modern-day version of this film... I'm really, really proud of the way it turned out. It makes me cry, at moments makes me laugh. Ultimately, it just makes your heart swell, really."

A large part of the film's success was due to King's onscreen chemistry with her co-star, something she said came quickly once filming got underway.

"Filming a movie with COVID restrictions is very bizarre. Getting to know your castmates, and becoming close with them, and bonding with them, as you're supposed to do, is just a little bit harder," King admitted, before saying of Allen, "Kyle is so great. We became so close on this shoot." 

"Once we started talking, and hanging out, and bonding, it was like, no protocol can really stop us from being friends," she said. "I'm so happy that we had the relationship that we did. He's the best."

In addition to starring in the project, King also served as a producer, which she found to be "really rewarding" and "really amazing."

"I think what this movie has done a beautiful job at is kind of making death a little less scary," she said. "I think that it just kind of made that topic a little more comfortable to talk about... It’s a really beautiful take on what happens after we pass, and that’s another reason I was really drawn to it."

The In Between will begin exclusively streaming on Paramount+ on Feb. 11, just in time for Valentine's Day!

King is no stranger to starring in romantic movies, but told ET that she has no plans on making another sequel to The Kissing Booth -- at least not anytime soon.

"I think we left it where it should be left," King said of the third film, which debuted on Netflix last year. "I loved playing Elle Evans. It was some of the most transformative years of my life, being able to play her, being able to love her. I love her so much."

"I always say, if we do a reboot in like 40 years, I'm down," she added, "but, I think for now, where we left her is where I’d like people to be able to imagine what she's doing next."

King is more likely to return to the Taylor Swift universe. The actress starred in Swift's music video for "Mean" back in 2010, and told ET that she'd be down to reprise her role when the singer releases a Taylor's Version of the track.

"I am such a fan of her. I just love everything that she's putting out. Love her Taylor’s Versions," King said of Swift's rerecorded albums. "If there’s a Taylor’s version of 'Mean,' who knows what's going to happen? I don't know. Maybe I'll just put on a little mushroom cap wig and just make it all over again."

Her willingness to return is largely due to her great on-set experience the first time around.

"It was really special. It was very magical," King said. "At that age, it was a larger-than-life set to be on. To be around her, she was so lovely. She was so sweet."

In the meantime, King has a lot of upcoming projects, including Bullet Train, which she stars in alongside Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock.

"It was the coolest thing ever. It was as cool as anyone can imagine it. You hear those big names, and you hear Hollywood, and you hear action movie, your mind goes to all these big, beautiful places, it was like that. It was pretty incredible," King gushed. "I've been doing this for such a long time, and you always dream to be on a set, and be with all your favorites, and also get to soak up all that knowledge."

King, who said she admires Pitt for being "graceful and so kind" on set, stayed mum about her role in the assassin flick, only noting that the character was "very fierce" and "so fun to play."

"It was just a 10/10 experience," she said. "I got to work with some people I've longtime admired. It blows my mind still that I got to be part of that. I can't wait for it to come out and for people to see it."

Tune in to Tuesday's episode of Entertainment Tonight for more of our exclusive interview with King.

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