‘The Love Hypothesis’: Lili Reinhart to Star in New Rom Com Adaptation!!

Riverdale‘s Lili Reinhart is about to embark on an experiment in romance. She’s set to star in The Love Hypothesis, an adaptation of Ali Hazelwood‘s romantic comedy bestseller of the same name. The film, which was announced back in 2022, is a production of Amazon MGM Studios…and has a surprising connection to Star Wars.

Deadline reports that Reinhart will also executive produce the film, which centers around biology grad student Olive Smith (Reinhart). She’s trying to convince her friends that her love life isn’t the disaster it actually is, so she concocts a fake relationship with an unlikely partner: Dr. Adam Carlsen, an academic rising star and a major pain in Olive’s butt. He has his own reasons for playing along, and the two soon start to forget that they’re supposed to be faking it. Will this experiment have a successful result, or will it blow up in everyone’s faces? In a statement, Hazelwood expressed disbelief that her book was coming to the big screen, and added, “I cannot wait to see the final product they’ll come up with. I hope they have as much fun filming as I had while writing the book.”

What Does ‘The Love Experiment’ Have to Do With ‘Star Wars’?

The Love Hypothesis began its life as Head Over Feet, a fan-fiction centering around the relationship (or “ship,” colloquially) between Star Wars: The Force Awakens characters Rey (Daisy Ridley), a neophyte Force user, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), a troubled Sith Lord. The “ship” between the two characters, which is nicknamed “Reylo,” is a popular one in certain corners of the fandom, and with Josh Gad. Ren’s death in The Rise of Skywalker ended the on-screen possibilities for a full-fledged romance between the two, even if it did feature a dramatic kiss, but the topic continues to be a popular one. Ultimately, the Star Wars references were taken out of Hazelwood‘s work before publication, although the two characters on the book’s cover do bear a striking resemblance to Driver and Ridley. It’s not the first time a book that began as a work of fan-fiction made it to the big screen; Fifty Shades of Grey famously began as a derivation of Twilight.

The Love Hypothesis will be directed by Claire Scanlon (Set It Up), and adapted for the screen by Sarah Rothschild (The Sleepover). Reinhart, Catherine Hagedorn (American Sweatshop), and Hazelwood will executive produce, while Elizabeth Cantillon (Persuasion) will produce.