Love, science, BookTok and… Star Wars? There’s a lot going on in “The Love Hypothesis,” and stars Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman were more than ready to test the chemistry with me!
Based on Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling romance novel, “The Love Hypothesis” brings the fan-favorite story of Olive Smith and Adam Carlsen to the screen, with Reinhart playing the brilliant but romantically clueless Olive and Bateman stepping into the intimidating — but much softer than he first appears — Adam.
When I sat down with the two stars, I wanted to know what it’s like taking on characters that millions of readers already know, love and have very specific ideas about.
For Reinhart, there’s an additional responsibility: she’s not only starring as Olive, she also serves as an executive producer. So I asked her the question every book lover wants answered: Was there anything from Hazelwood’s novel where she thought, “The fans will come after me if we don’t get this right?”
We also talked about understanding Olive — a woman who can handle science much more easily than she can handle her own heart — and the pressure of stepping into a role that already lives so vividly in readers’ imaginations.
Bateman, meanwhile, talked about finding the balance in Adam, the notoriously intimidating professor nicknamed “Dr. Evil” who turns out to have a much more lovable side.
And then there’s the Star Wars connection I simply could not resist.
Before becoming a bestselling novel, “The Love Hypothesis” famously originated from a story inspired by the Rey and Kylo Ren pairing. Now Bateman is playing the character who evolved from that inspiration — while his wife, Daisy Ridley, played Rey in the “Star Wars” films.
Come on! How could I NOT ask him about that?
So naturally, I wanted to know whether he and Ridley had ever laughed about this wonderfully bizarre full-circle pop-culture moment.
We also put Reinhart and Bateman to the ultimate test: What’s more intimidating — falling in love on camera or knowing millions of “The Love Hypothesis” fans are watching to make sure you don’t mess up their beloved book?
Watch my full interview with Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman above as we talk about romance, adapting Ali Hazelwood’s phenomenon, Olive and Adam, passionate book fans, Star Wars and, of course, that all-important chemistry.
Because after talking with these two, I’ve reached my scientific conclusion:
Great chemistry needs no hypothesis. This experiment is a success! 🧪❤️
