The adaptation of bestsellingromanceauthor Ali Hazelwood’s debut novel,The Love Hypothesis, has just cast its male lead, and the choice will likely please Reylo’s most fervent shippers. Many writers get their start in fanfiction, as it’s a great way to develop the craft.One such writer is Ali Hazelwood, whose debut romance novel,The Love Hypothesis, famously began as Reylo fanfiction.
For the uninitiated, Reylo is the official fandom name for the fictionalrelationship between theStar Warssequel trilogy’s Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who are enemies turned allies turned “blink-and-you-miss-it” lovers. Hazelwood has since stepped away from the galaxy far, far, away (that we know of, at least); most of her novels, includingThe Love Hypothesis, are categorized as STEM romances.
It was previously announced thatRiverdale’s Lili Reinhart would be taking onThe Love Hypothesis’female lead role as Olive Smith, a third-year PhD candidate who trips into a fake relationship with a tyrannical professor known as Dr. Adam Carlsen.Deadlinehas now revealed thatTom Bateman (Murder on the Orient Express, Based on a True Story) has been cast as Adam.
Bateman’s casting is noteworthy for one very particular reason: the British actor is married toStar Warsstar Daisy Ridley, one-half of that all-consuming Reylo ship. While this is likely just a coincidence, as Bateman is a talented actor and will no doubt be great in the role, it’s still an ingenious move.
What This Means For The Love Hypothesis
Fans Have Been Losing It On Social Media
The Love Hypothesiscertainly isn’t the only major traditionally published novel to have its roots in fanfiction.E.L. James’Fifty Shades of Greywas originally conceived asTwilightfanfiction. Author Thea Guanzon’s bestselling romantasy novel,The Hurricane Wars, also had a past life as a piece of Reylo fanfiction, attracting the attention of a publisher (viaMashable).
While some readers, especially those unmoved byThe Love Hypothesis’complicated fandom origins, won’t be as tickled by the news, those in the know have been having an absolute field day on social media.
Tom Bateman and Daisy Ridley met on the set of 2017’sMurder on the Orient Express(viaPeople).
X user @yeonbinsgurlwrote,“The concept of playing the love interest in fanfiction about your wife is kind of insane, I think Tom Bateman won in life.”
X user @neon_heartbeartcommented,“This is the funniest thing that has ever happened in any fandom ever from the beginning of time. This is like if Robert Pattinson’s girlfriend got cast as[Fifty Shades of Grey’s]Anastasia Steele.“There are hundreds more reactions just like those.
Our Take On The Love Hypothesis Adaptation
This Is An Exciting Time For Romance Fans
While the casting news forThe Love Hypothesisis undeniably fascinating, I’m even more intrigued by the movie’s choice of director. According toDeadline,Set It Up’s Claire Scanlon has been tapped to direct Hazelwood’s first movie adaptation.
Set It Upis one of Netflix’s best and most rewatchable romantic comedies. If Scanlon can capture the same kind of chemistry between Bateman and Reinhart asGlen Powell and Zoey Deutch had inSet It Up,The Love Hypothesiswill surely be a winner.
Romance novel adaptations, whether they be historical, contemporary, orromantasy, have never been more popular than they are now. BetweenThe Love Hypothesis,Bridgerton,Emily Henry’s cinematic universe, Rebecca Yarros' Empyrean series,Callie Hart’s seven-figureQuicksilveradaptation, Elle Kennedy’sOff Campusseries, and more, there’s arguably never been a better time to be a romance reader and avid movie and TV fan.
