Book-to-Screen
Anna Todd Pushed for Dave Franco’s Casting in Colleen Hoover’s ‘Regretting You’ Movie Adaptation
The film adaptation of Colleen Hoover‘s It Ends With Us became one of the biggest hits of the summer, and the Hoover Cinematic Universe is expanding with Regretting You. Hoover’s 2019 romance is headed to the big screen with Allison Williams, Dave Franco, Mckenna Grace, and Mason Thames set to star as the novel’s core characters.
Frayed Pages Media, founded by After author Anna Todd, is producing the film adaptation. Williams and Grace will play mother-daughter duo Morgan and Clara Grant. Franco will play Jonah Sullivan, Morgan’s longtime friend, and Thames will star as Miller Adams, Clara’s love interest. Regretting You is a multi-generational story of family, love, and loss.
Jonah is one of the most beloved characters in Hoover’s collection of novels, and Todd knew Franco was perfect for the role. She’s the one who brought up his name during the casting process and pushed for him to become Jonah.
“The director, Josh Boone, who did The Fault in Our Stars, has known Dave Franco forever. They produced something together. Even with After, I was very involved in the casting. There’s something about casting. I don’t know. I feel like my gut — knock on wood — is usually on point,” Todd told Swooon. “When I first brought up Dave, they were like, ‘I don’t know,’ because he doesn’t really sound like a romance guy. He really hasn’t done many. And I’m like, first of all, he should be. And if I were his agent, he would be.”
She added, “I thought we should at least try to have him read the script. Again, he’s very selective with what he does because he makes very strategic choices. Josh has a relationship with him, so it worked out perfectly. But I was wondering how people are going to take it online because he’s not who you would first expect. But once you think about it and see him and think about him being a teacher in a classroom, I knew he was perfect for it.”
When Franco read the script, Todd said he “loved it.” She added, “I’m very excited for Dave. Who knows how many romances he’ll do after this?”
The producer was drawn to the Grant family at the center of Regretting You. “I just felt like it was so complex and complicated that I would love it as a film. It played out like a film in my mind,” she admitted. She’s excited to help adapt “the mother-daughter dynamic and the double romance” for the big screen.
Todd got the rights to Regretting You back in 2020. The novel is her favorite of Hoover’s books. She also has a close connection with the It Ends With Us author. “We’ve been very close since the beginning of my career,” she said.
Production on Regretting You is set to begin in 2025. A release date has not been announced.
What do you think of the Regretting You cast? Are the actors who you envisioned? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
