‘The Love Hypothesis’ sets release date as trailer brings fan-favorite scene to life
Prime Video has released the first trailer for ‘The Love Hypothesis,’ giving readers their first extended look at Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman as Olive Smith and Adam Carlsen. The footage recreates the water-fountain kiss seen on the book’s cover and brings the much-discussed sunscreen scene to the screen. It also shows Olive’s attempt to prove she has moved on, turning into a fake relationship that neither can keep pretending is fake.
‘The Love Hypothesis’ will premiere on Prime Video on September 23. Reinhart plays Olive, a Stanford University PhD candidate who impulsively kisses Adam after learning that her best friend Ahn, played by Rachel Marsh, has feelings for Olive’s crush Jeremy, played by Nicholas Duvernay. Adam agrees to continue the ruse because the relationship could make him look less like a ‘flight risk’ to Stanford, which is threatening to pull funding from his grant.
The arrangement comes with rules and boundaries, but the trailer makes clear that those limits will be tested. Olive tells Adam, “Science tells us that molecules will stay in motion until they find a match,” before their water-fountain encounter sets the story in motion. Later, she applies sunscreen to a shirtless Adam and asks him to “smile, please” as part of her lesson in flirting, recreating one of the novel’s most recognizable moments.
Reinhart discussed the friendship behind Olive’s decision during Obsessed Fest in June. “If you aren’t familiar, the big, important part of ‘The Love Hypothesis’ and sort of the engine of the story is that these two come together because of Olive’s loyalty to her best friend,” she said. “I really enjoyed the friendship aspect. I think it’s a romantic comedy. It’s about two people falling in love, but it also stemming from a place of female friendship, which is really beautiful and lovely.”
Ali Hazelwood published ‘The Love Hypothesis’ in 2021 after first writing the story as ‘Head Over Feet,’ a ‘Star Wars’ fan fiction centered on Rey and Kylo Ren. That background adds a link between the adaptation and the 'Star Wars' franchise: Bateman is married to Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the sequel trilogy. The novel’s original character inspiration is also evident in Adam’s name, which recalls Adam Driver, the actor who played Kylo Ren.
Claire Scanlon directed the film from a screenplay by Sarah Rothschild, while Reinhart also serves as an executive producer. The supporting cast includes Jaboukie Young-White and Arty Froushan alongside Marsh and Duvernay. Reinhart said at Obsessed Fest that the production wanted to preserve the novel’s central relationships, “It’s the source material we wanted to totally respect, [which] I think our writer, Sarah, absolutely did. So yeah, the heart of the book is in the film.”
