‘The Love Hypothesis’: Cast, Where to Watch and Its Star Wars Origin

• The Love Hypothesis, starring Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman, has been streaming on Prime Video since Wednesday, Sept. 23.
• It adapts Ali Hazelwood’s 2021 best-seller, which began as Star Wars fan fiction about Rey and Kylo Ren.
• Bateman, who plays Adam, is married to Daisy Ridley, who played Rey.

Science, fake dating and a Star Wars secret. The Love Hypothesis, the adaptation of Ali Hazelwood‘s best-selling romance, premiered Wednesday (Sept. 23) on Prime Video, with Lili Reinhart, 30, as Ph.D. student Olive and Tom Bateman as the professor she fake-dates, Adam Carlsen.

Searches for the movie climbed in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada on premiere day, according to Google Trends. Here’s how to watch it, who’s in it, and the fan-fiction story behind the book.

Where can I watch The Love Hypothesis?

Only on Prime Video, worldwide. There’s no theatrical release. It’s included with an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year in the U.S.

Who is in The Love Hypothesis cast?

• Lili Reinhart (Riverdale, Chemical Hearts) as Olive Smith, a Ph.D. candidate
• Tom Bateman (Murder on the Orient Express, Hedda) as Adam Carlsen, the professor she kisses
• Rachel Marsh (Adults) as Anh, Olive’s best friend
• Nicholas Duvernay (The White Lotus) as Jeremy, Olive’s ex
• Jaboukie Young-White (Companion) as Malcolm, Olive’s roommate
• Arty Froushan (Daredevil: Born Again) as Tom, Adam’s friend and a Harvard professor

The setup follows the book. Olive kisses Adam on impulse to convince Anh she’s over Jeremy, and he goes along: he needs his university to believe he’s settled, and a girlfriend helps. Claire Scanlon (Set It Up) directed from a script by Sarah Rothschild.

Is The Love Hypothesis based on Star Wars fan fiction?

Yes. Before it was a novel, it was a 2018 story called “Head Over Feet,” posted on the fan-fiction site Archive of Our Own under the name Ever_So_Reylo. It put Rey and Kylo Ren, the Star Wars characters fans call “Reylo,” at Stanford as fake-dating academics.

Hazelwood, a neuroscientist, rewrote it with original characters, and it came out in 2021 as her debut novel. Adam’s first name is widely read as a nod to Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren.

The casting closes the loop: Bateman is married to Daisy Ridley, who played Rey. The two met making Murder on the Orient Express (2017). Ridley was also trending in the U.K. on Wednesday.

Is The Love Hypothesis movie any good?

Early reviews are mostly positive: the film had an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes from its first 17 reviews on Sept. 22, with most critics singling out the leads’ chemistry.

Hazelwood, an executive producer, warned readers not to expect a copy. “Of course, it’s going to be different from the book,” she said at a book event. “It’s a completely different medium.” Reinhart, also an executive producer, said of her co-star, “He is the complete opposite of Adam in real life.”

More new releases are in our Movies & TV section, including the real story behind NBC’s Line of Fire and the cast of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. Everything on the star is on our Lili Reinhart page.

— Bruno Monteiro

Sources: Prime Video and Amazon (release, cast and pricing, updated Sept. 23, 2026); Google Trends (U.S., U.K. and Canada, Sept. 23, 2026); Rotten Tomatoes (score as of Sept. 22), as reported by Forbes (Paul Tassi); cast details and Hazelwood’s and Reinhart’s remarks as reported by TV Insider (Megan Vick) and Cosmopolitan; fan-fiction history as reported by The A.V. Club. Photos: frames from the official trailer (Prime Video).