Rey and Kylo Ren (Reylo) Fan Fiction Gets Rom-Com Release as ‘The Love Hypothesis’

Ali Hazelwood’s novel Love, Theoretically, originally created as Star Wars fan-fiction based on the fiery relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren, is getting a movie adaptation at Amazon MGM Studios, being released as The Love Hypothesis on September 23rd.

The Love Hypothesis follows Olive Smith (originally Rey, with Lili Reinhart playing her in the movie adaptation), a PhD candidate who, after an impulsive kiss with Professor Adam Carlsen (originally Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, with Tom Bateman playing him in the adaptation), finds herself involved in a fake-dating plot.

It may sound like your average fan fiction at first, but Hazelwood’s take on a steamy Reylo romance became exceedingly popular. So much so that Hazelwood started thinking about trying her hand at something original, pulling some of her fan fiction completely and reworking it. It was something Hazelwood revealed in an interview with Collider that her agent encouraged her to do so: “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 some of your manuscripts, if you’re interested in it.'”

Despite being set nowhere near a galaxy, far, far away, the character dynamics in Hazelwood’s fanfic were absolutely Star Wars. There were characters like Finn and Poe as Rey’s well-meaning but judgmental friends, as well as characters like Dr. Phasma (originally an antagonist in the Star Wars sequels) and Professor Solo, aka the legendary Han Solo. With that in mind, many changes had to be made in order to move away from that universe.

Yet, even with all these changes, The Love Hypothesis’ origins certainly don’t look as if they’ll be swept under the rug anytime soon. Even Bateman (who is married to real-life Rey actor, Daisy Ridley) is aware of the STEM-based rom-com’s Star Wars beginnings.

The Love Hypothesis will premiere on Prime Video on September 23rd. Watch the trailer here.