Before it became a bestselling romance novel and a booktok sensation, Ali Hazelwood’s ‘The Love Hypothesis’ had a very different identity. She originally began writing it as a ‘Star Wars’ fanfiction centred on Rey and Kylo Ren.
Now that the beloved story has made its way to the big screen, the filmmakers are having so much fun with this history. Here are all the ‘Star Wars’ references in ‘The Love Hypothesis’ you might want to celebrate.
How Reylo Inspired Ali Hazelwood’s ‘The Love Hypothesis’
Ali Hazelwood’s manuscript was originally titled ‘Head Over Feet’. It reimagined the characters from the ‘Star Wars’ sequel trilogy in an academic setting. Rey, portrayed by Daisy Ridley, became the female lead, Olive. Adam Carlsen was inspired by Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver.
When ‘The Love Hypothesis’ was published in 2021, all direct references to ‘Star Wars’ were removed, and the characters were renamed. However, this history remains a hidden Easter egg for fans to enjoy. Even the iconic cover art for ‘The Love Hypothesis’ book resembles Ridley and Driver.
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The 2026 movie adaptation left plenty of room for fans to spot this connection as well. There are no direct references to ‘Star Wars’, but the filmmakers have incorporated several subtle nods.
One particularly noticeable example comes when Adam storms down the hallways dressed entirely in black, creating a very distinct Sith-like image. Even the score accompanying these moments is so reminscent of ‘Star Wars’.
There is another surprisingly specific Easter egg right at the beginning of the movie. ‘The Love Hypothesis’ opens with Gracie Abrams’ song “Mess It Up.” Abrams is the daughter of J.J. Abrams, who produced the entries in the ‘Star Wars’ sequel trilogy.
Because of copyright issues, the film obviously isn’t trying to overtly make references to ‘Star Wars’. Instead, there are subtle connections that can easily go unnoticed by most viewers. But their recognizable enough to feel like a secret being shared with the fans.
How Is Tom Bateman’s Wife Connected To ‘The Love Hypothesis’?
The most amusing connection between ‘Star Wars’ and ‘The Love Hypothesis’ is, of course, its male lead, Tom Bateman. Bateman plays Adam Carlsen, the character originally inspired by Kylo Ren, Adam Driver’s character from the ‘Star Wars‘ sequel trilogy.
But Bateman has a rather unique connection to Rey herself: he is actually married to Daisy Ridley. He is Rey’s husband in real life, and it creates an almost impossibly neat coincidence for Reylo fans.
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Bateman has made it clear, however, that the connection was not a factor in his casting. In fact, when the casting was announced, some fans of the book expressed scepticism about whether he could capture the imposing presence they associated with Adam Carlsen. The Star Wars connection certainly added another layer to the casting conversation.
But according to the filmmakers, it was simply a coincidence since they needed someone who could take up the responsibility of being a rom-com main lead for a book adaptation. Bateman has since proved that by completely embodying the way readers imagined Adam Carlsen.
When Bateman was asked about the connection between ‘The Love Hypothesis’, ‘Star Wars’ and his wife, he replied: “I didn’t quite realise the intensity with which that connection was gonna bubble up. But I thought, yeah, well, of course those films are incredible, and those characters are so beautifully written and performed, and of course that’s gonna inspire other people to create and write their own. Of course, Ali Hazelwood was inspired to write those characters in some form into this world.”
That is probably the most fitting way to look at the entire connection. What began as a fanfiction inspired by two ‘Star Wars’ characters has now come full circle in a way that almost feels too perfect to have been planned.
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