Tom Bateman’s new gig is a coincidence of galactic proportions.
Bateman, who is married to “Star Wars” actress Daisy Ridley, has been cast in the upcoming film “The Love Hypothesis,” Amazon MGM Studios announced on social media July 17. The movie serves as an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling romance novel — and former “Star Wars” fanfiction — by Ali Hazelwood.
“Hypothesis: Tom Bateman is the perfect Adam Carlsen,” Amazon MGM Studios wrote alongside the casting announcement.
Bateman is set to play Adam Carlsen, a professor who finds himself in a whirlwind fake relationship with PhD candidate Olive Smith (Lili Reinhart) as Smith tries to convince her friend that her love life is going well.
Eagle-eyed “Star Wars” fans will be quick to clock the irony of Bateman’s involvement in the film, as Ridley’s “Star Wars” character Rey (introduced in 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”) was a chief inspiration for the early stages of “The Love Hypothesis” novel.
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Bateman and Ridley met in 2017 while filming the crime drama remake “Murder on the Orient Express.”
What is the connection between ‘The Love Hypothesis’ and ‘Star Wars’?
Hazelwood’s first incarnation of “The Love Hypothesis,” titled “Head Over Feet,” was published online in 2018 as a “Star Wars” fanfiction that centered on the relationship between Ridley’s character Rey and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), which has been given the nickname “Reylo.”
In the original “Star Wars” universe, Rey and Kylo are enemies who later discover they share a powerful connection called a “force dyad,” which inspires Kylo to come to Rey’s aid in battle in the 2019 film “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
Hazelwood was discovered by her literary agent thanks to self-publishing the fanfiction on the content-sharing platform Archive of Our Own, aka A03, the author told Collider in a 2021 interview. “Head Over Feet” was subsequently reworked into a non-“Star Wars” story, although Adam Carlsen’s name is a nod to Driver and his portrayal of Kylo.
“Traditional publishing is getting more and more interested in fanfiction and in embracing it,” Hazelwood told the outlet. “And maybe they’re doing well because of money and marketing and stuff like that, but I’m just really happy that this is happening and that fanfiction is gaining legitimacy because it always had legitimacy.”
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Fans praise ‘genius’ casting of Tom Bateman in ‘The Love Hypothesis’ movie
Following the announcement of Bateman’s “Love Hypothesis” casting, fans took to social media to share their shock and enthusiasm for the “Star Wars” connection.
“Fanfiction version of (Daisy Ridley’s) space husband being her real-life husband. Amazon MGM, I was not familiar with your game,” @amber_amberson wrote on X.
“Tom Bateman, who is actually Daisy Ridley’s husband, starring in a book that was based off a Reylo fanfic of a film his wife is a part of?!?!?” @koredakota wrote. “YEAH, THEY ATE WITH THIS CASTING.”
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“How do we explain to locals that Tom Bateman is married to Daisy Ridley, (who) plays Rey, the inspiration behind Olive and The Love Hypothesis fanfic,” @enemieslovrs wrote.
“Tom Bateman playing Adam in The Love Hypothesis movie, oh this is genius,” @edenhowlsz wrote. “Whoever planned this needs a raise.”
“What if they create a random female character just so they could have Daisy in the movie,” @agentdaisyskye jokingly suggested. “I won’t be against it, and it’ll also be so funny.”
