Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis is headed to the big screen, with Lili Reinhart set to star, Deadline reports.
Hazelwood’s debut novel, published in 2021 by Berkley, tells the story of Olive Smith, a Ph.D. candidate in biology who instigates a fake relationship with a professor, Adam Carlsen, in order to make her best friend comfortable with dating Olive’s ex-boyfriend. A critic for Kirkus called the book “fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.”
Reinhart will play Olive in the film, while Tom Bateman will star as Adam. Reinhart and Hazelwood are among the executive producers of the film, which will be written by Sarah Rothschild (The Sleepover) and directed by Claire Scanlon (Miracle Workers, Abbott Elementary).
Hazelwood’s novel began as a work of Star Wars fan fiction about a relationship between the characters Rey and Kylo Ren. Fans of both Hazelwood and Star Warswere quick to note that Bateman is married to Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in three of the Star Wars films.
Hazelwood said in a statement, “Honestly, I still can’t believe this is happening? [Producer] Elizabeth Cantillon, Claire Scanlon, and Lili Reinhart have all created, produced, or starred in works that I’m absolutely feral about, and I am beyond honored that they’re choosing to bring their talent to this project. Books and films are very different media, and I have complete trust in this brilliant team.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
