Tom Bateman joining the film adaptation of The Love Hypothesis is a casting of epic proportions if you know the Star Wars — and Reylo — lore. So allow Us to break it down for you.
Ali Hazelwood‘s The Love Hypothesis was an overnight success when the book was published in 2021. But to some Star Wars fans — at least if you rooted for Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) — it might have sounded familiar after getting its start as fanfiction.
According to the synopsis, The Love Hypothesis follows Olive as she tries to convince her best friend into thinking her dating life is great. To help with the lie, she pretends to date her professor, Adam, and the twosome try to make everyone around them think they are in love. But soon, they start to forget that their feelings are supposed to be fake.”
The Love Hypothesis becoming a mainstream hit paved the way for it to be developed into a movie, which is where things get interesting. In October 2022, it was announced that a film adaptation of the novel was in development and three years later Lili Reinhart joined the cast. It wasn’t until her onscreen love interest — Bateman — was announced that people pointed out the irony.
Bateman isn’t just known for his roles in Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile and Based on a True Story. He has also been married to Ridley since 2023. Yes, the same actress who inspired the fanfiction that then was redeveloped as The Love Hypothesis.
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the connection — including what Ridley has said about The Love Hypothesis:
What Inspired ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
Before Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis was in fact The Love Hypothesis. It was originally a fan fiction story about Rey and Kylo Ren from the new Star Wars movies. Similar to Fifty Shades of Grey getting its star as Twilight fan fiction, The Love Hypothesis was a story posted to Archive of Our Own with the title Head Over Feet.
“My agent started reading my fanfiction on AO3 and then she reached out with a DM. She was like, ‘I saw that you wrote something about maybe pulling some of your fics and reworking them. And I wanted to tell you that I’m a literary agent and I would love to see you some of your manuscripts, if you’re interested in it,’” the author told Collider in 2021. “And so that’s how I took the fanfiction of mine that I thought was the most reworkable and I sent it to her and then I signed with her. And then after approximately 70 billion more revisions, both with her and an editor … we got a lot of RNRs [revise and resubmits] that didn’t pan out but made the book better, because we got really good feedback.”
How Does Reylo Fit Into the ‘Star Wars’ Equation?
The Star Wars sequel trilogy introduced viewers to a new generation of characters — and relationships. The Force Awakens, which premiered in 2015, hinted at a potential romance between Rey and Finn (John Boyega) after they joined the Resistance in an effort to take down the First Order.
In the next two films, Finn’s story line was put on the back burner as Rey’s unexplained connection with Kylo Ren took center stage.
“I don’t think [their relationship is] all one thing,” Driver explained to Entertainment Weekly in 2019. “Part of the fun of playing it is the boundaries of it keep changing. At times it’s more intimate, sometimes less intimate. Sometimes it’s codependent. And then it’s, obviously, adversarial.”
Meanwhile, Ridley questioned what kind of future the pair could have together. “I do know about Reylo. I don’t know how I feel about it because everyone’s talking about the toxic thing of a relationship when it’s essentially emotional [abuse]. It’s a tricky road,” the actress told fans at Star Wars Celebration that same year.
She added: “I do feel like, deep down, Kylo thinks what he’s doing is right and he doesn’t think he’s wrong, but he has also killed so many people. So I can’t really get behind in that, in a personal way. Maybe there’s redemption. Who knows? Maybe we explore that in the film.”
In The Last Jedi, Rey and Kylo Ren shared a kiss before the villain’s ultimate demise. They don’tend up together, however, since Kylo Ren dies by the end of the movie.
What Hints at Reylo Have Remained in ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
After being published online in 2018 as Head Over Feet, the main characters were renamed Olive and Adam (in honor of Adam Driver) once the story turned into a novel. The Star Wars references were also cut but the cover still features characters designed to resemble Driver and Ridley.
Who Stars in ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
In July 2025, Reinhert announced her involvement in the film adaptation as an executive producer and star. Her onscreen love interest was announced days later and it was none other than Ridley’s real-life husband.
Have Daisy or Adam Spoken About ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
Ridley was asked about the connection while speaking to Collider in 2023, to which she replied, “I mean, honestly, for anyone to just write a book is so impressive, let alone a New York Times bestseller, let alone something inspired by something I was part of. That’s very thrilling.”
She continued: “So, thank you, if anyone’s reading this. Whoever wrote The Love Hypothesis and The Hurricane Wars. Wow. F***ing cool.”
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