To All The Boys: P.S. I Sill Love You recast John Ambrose McClaren, replacing Jordan Burtchett with Jordan Fisher, but why? The post-credits scene for 2018's To All The Boys I've Loved Before already set-up the sequel by briefly introducing us to the series' version of the character. This is why fans were surprised to learn that there was an actor change by the time the new film dropped on Netflix.
Based on Jenny Han's young adult romance trilogy, the To All The Boys film series follows the life of high school student Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) as she navigates the ramifications of her secret old love letters sent out to their respective recipients by her younger sister. The focus on the original film was her relationship with Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) who was among her first crushes. They eventually got together, but with a sequel film coming, To All The Boys I've Loved Before included a mid-credits scene introducingJohn Ambrose - another letter recipient, played by Jordan Burtchett.
Fans expected Burtchett to reprise the role in To All The Boys 2, which was confirmed to be happening in December 2018. John Ambrose was going to play a big part in the sequel as his arrival complicates Lara Jean and Peter's relationship, so naturally everyone was excited for him. This is why fans were quite confused when it was revealed in March 2019 that Jordan Fisher was cast as the character. There was no official reason why Netflix decided to recast the part. When new broke out, the film's producer Matt Kaplan didn't get into the specifics about why they opted for a different actor - although he emphasized how they went through a lot of actors to replace Burtchett. That's where they found Fisher and they knew immediately that they had their new John Ambrose.
Burtchett also addressed the recasting several times, but like Kaplan, he didn't reveal why he was recast, although it sounded like there was a bit of controversy behind-the-scenes seeing that he called being replaced "lame." He still reiterated, however, that he didn't want any bad blood between him and the rest of the people who still worked on To All The Boys 2. So, he ended it with optimism, saying that there will be great things ahead of him and his former co-workers on the Netflix project.
Admittedly, Fisher is the bigger name between him and Burtchett. The latter was on Supernatural and Women of the House, and had a recurring role in The Killing. However, his replacement simply has a longer Hollywood resume. Fisher had several roles on the small screen including in The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Liv and Maddie, as well as MTV's Teen Wolf where he played Noah. He also competed on Dancing with the Stars 25 where he and partner Lindsay Arnold emerged winners. Finally, he was on the hit Broadway show Hamilton where he portrayed John Laurens/Philip Hamilton. It's likely that Netflix wanted to cast someone who'd been in more projects than a relatively unknown.
If this is really the case, it's curious why To All The Boys I've Loved Before even included its stinger. The whole scene was totally disregarded in To All The Boys 2 anyway, with an entirely different entry for John Ambrose. Given that the sequel significantly changed the character's narrative (including being Stormy's grandson in the books), who knows if he'll even be in the third film?