Anne Hathaway’s next role opposite Red, White & Royal Blue heartthrob Nicholas Galitzine in The Idea of You promises to get pulses racing.
Based on the novel of the same name by Robinne Lee, The Idea of You follows a divorced mother (Hathaway) who starts up a romance with a much younger pop star (Galitzine) after meeting him. Lee was inspired when she learned about One Direction and about Harry Styles often dating older women and the idea was born. (Styles has dated Caroline Flack and Olivia Wilde).
The novel is Lee’s first and was published in 2017. She also is an actress and has had roles in films like Hitch and Fifty Shades Darker and television shows like BET’s Being Mary Jane.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 alongside Styles’s own fame exploding, The Idea of You took on new life. While the novel has plenty of steamy sex and high emotional stakes Lee also wanted to explore aging and what culture says what a woman’s worth is. In a December 2020 interview with Vogue, Lee expanded on what she wanted to say with the novel.
“This was never supposed to be a book about Harry Styles. Nor was it ever intended as a classic, fuzzy romance,” Lee said, “It was supposed to be a story about a woman approaching 40 and reclaiming her sexuality and rediscovering herself, just at the point that society traditionally writes women off as desirable and viable and whole.”
A film adaptation was announced in December 2018 with Gabrielle Union producing. It was later confirmed in 2021, that actress and writer Jennifer Westfeldt would be writing the script with Hathaway playing the lead role. In 2022, Michael Showalter, who previously directed The Big Sick, was announced as director alongside Galitzine playing Hathaway’s love interest.
Keep scrolling for everything to know about The Idea of You.
What Is The Idea of You About?
Solene Marchand (Hathaway) is a 40 year old owner of a Los Angeles art gallery. After she reluctantly takes her middle school daughter to see August Moon, a wildly popular boy band, Solene finds herself inadvertently making a connection with Hayes Campbell (Galitzine), a 24-year-old member of the band. After lusty trysts, Solene and Hayes embark on a very real, passionate relationship that changes both of their lives. (In the book, Hayes is 20.)
When Will The Idea of You be Released?
The Idea of You will be released via Amazon Prime Video on Thursday, May 2.
Who Stars in The Idea of You?
Hathaway plays Solene and Galitzine plays Hayes.
The cast also includes Dan Reid as ex husband Dan and Ella Rubin as their daughter, Izzy. Annie Mumolo and Mathilda Gianopoulos round out the cast.
Is There a Trailer for The Idea of You?
The movie’s first trailer was released in March 2024, with fans getting a first look at Hathaway and Galitzine’s steamy onscreen romance.
Previously, fans got a brief first look at the film in Amazon’s 2024 preview.
How Did Harry Styles Inspire The Idea of You?
It’s long been rumored that Lee’s novel was based on Styles’ fanfiction, but she has shut that down. The similarities, however, between Hayes and Styles are many in the book down to the tattoos.
While fanfiction didn’t inspire Lee, One Direction and Styles certainly added elements to her story. She describes making Hayes into her dream guy as “Prince Harry meets Harry [Styles].” Add in a couple of exes, a bit of her husband, and a little Eddie Redmayne — Hayes Campbell, fictional dreamboat was born.
