Amidst ‘It Ends With Us’ drama, another Colleen Hoover book is getting an adaptation

Colleen Hoover’s novels may not exactly be literary fiction that’ll shake your world, but they sure have Hollywood in a chokehold. After the success of It Ends With Us, the adaptation starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, another of Hoover’s novels, Regretting You, is headed for the big screen.

Deadline reports that The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone will direct the adaptation, from a script by Susan McMartin (After). It will be produced by Constantin Films’ Robert Kilmer, alongside Anna Todd and Brunson Green.

If there’s one thing CoHo books will give you, it is unlikable, deeply flawed characters that you can debate about for hours. While her books are not for everyone, if handled deftly, they can make screen adaptations that aren’t actually half bad. Just look at It Ends With Us (read our review),where the movie seems to be shades better than the novel it was adapted from.

And Regretting You is in a similar vein, with problematic, complicated characters and complex relationship dynamics that will need to be handled delicately.

What is Regretting You about?

First published in December 2019, Regretting You revolves around a mother and her 16-year-old daughter. Morgan became pregnant at a young age, and gave up her dreams to raise her child. It’s something she doesn’t want for her daughter, Clara. But she needn’t worry, for Clara doesn’t like her mother much because she thinks her mother’s predictable and boring. The one keeping the peace between them is Morgan’s husband and Clara’s father, Chris—until he dies in a tragic accident, the circumstances of which shake the family to the core.

The official synopsis of the book describes the fallout from the accident as heartbreaking and long-lasting: “While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together. “

Who will star in the Regretting You screen adaptation?

The film has already announced casting for its two female leads. Girls, Get Out, and M3GAN actor Allison Williams is all set to play Morgan. As for Morgan’s teenage daughter Clara, the character will be played by The Handmaid’s Tale and Ghostbusters: Afterlife actor McKenna Grace. 

And now, it has been reported that Mason Thames and Dave Franco have joined the cast. The Love Lies Bleeding and Now You See Me 3 actor will play the character of Jonah, the love interest of Morgan’s character and tied to her story in a complicated way. 

When will Regretting You release?

So far, there have only been cast announcements but no confirmation on when the production is set to go on floors or when the film can be expected to release.

But don’t you worry, there’s a couple of Colleen Hoover book adaptations in the works that will keep you engaged. Another one of her novels, Verity, is also getting adapted by Amazon MGM Studios.

However, going by all the buzz the drama around It Ends With Us’ misdirecting promotions and the alleged feud between director Justin Baldoni and star Blake Lively and the rest of the cast, let’s hope the makers and stars of this film do a better job of handling their PR. 

It has now been reported that Baldoni has hired seasoned PR crisis manager Melissa Nathan, who repped Johnny Depp during the Amber Heard trial. Meanwhile on social media, more theories and ‘insider info’ has been emerging to try and explain what went wrong between the cast.