Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett Join Anne Hathaway in Colleen Hoover’s "Verity" Movie Adaptation

Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett have signed on to star opposite Anne Hathaway in the upcoming film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling book “Verity."

Johnson will play Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime — to complete the remaining books in a successful series by best-selling thriller author Verity Crawford (Hathaway). 

Hartnett plays Verity’s husband Jeremy, who hires Lowen after his wife is unable to finish the books after a mysterious accident.

The film’s logline reads: “Upon arrival at the lavish Crawford estate, Lowen slowly learns that things are not exactly as they seem with the discovery of a secret, unfinished manuscript that may divulge chilling admissions about the family’s past. As Lowen ingratiates herself with Jeremy and his young son Crew, she must discern if Verity’s writings are merely lurid works of fiction or an ominous warning by a deranged psychopath.”

“Verity” was self-published in 2018 and became a literary sensation, spending months on the New York Times best-sellers list and selling more than 1 million copies in 2023 alone. It is created in the vein of “Rebecca” and “Gone Girl.”

Hoover has been high on Hollywood’s radar after her hit novel “It Ends With Us” became a box office sleeper hit over the summer.

The pic, directed by Justin Baldoni and starring Blake Lively, grossed $349 million globally against its $25 million budget. Though Hoover already wrote a best-selling sequel called “It Starts With Us,” it’s not expected to get the big screen treatment because Lively and Baldoni — who played the two main characters in the first film — didn’t get along on set and likely won’t work together again.

A film version of Hoover’s book “Reminders of Him” is in the works at Universal Pictures.

Michael Showalter, who worked with Hathaway on this year’s rom-com “The Idea of You,” is directing the film for Amazon MGM. It will be released in theaters.

Nick Antosca wrote the script after previous versions by Hoover and Lauren Levine; Hillary Seitz; Angela LaManna; and Will Honley and April Maguire.

Hathaway, Hoover and Showalter will serve as producers under their respective banners of Somewhere Pictures, Heartbones Entertainment and Semi-Formal Productions. 

Additional producers include Antosca of Eat the Cat, Jordana Mollick of Semi-Formal and Stacey Sher of Shiny Penny. Lauren Levine of Heartbones will executive produce. Johnson has also signed on to executive produce the film. 

“Verity” falls under Semi-Formal’s first-look film deal with Amazon MGM.

After breaking out in “The Social Network” and the “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise, Johnson has showcased her range as an actress with films like “A Bigger Splash,” “Suspiria” and “The Peanut Butter Falcon” and her sensibilities as a producer with “Daddio,” “Cha Cha Real Smooth” and “Am I OK?”.

Johnson also launched TeaTime Pictures with her producing partner Ro Donnelly in 2019. Next up, she will star in two highly-anticipated films: Celine Song’s “Materialists” and Michael Angelo Covino’s “Splitsville”. 

Hartnett, who enjoyed massive success in the ’90s and 2000s with starring roles in “The Faculty,” “Pearl Harbor,” “Black Hawk Down” and many more top titles, has been enjoying a career renaissance as of late. 

He appeared in Christopher Nolan’s best picture Oscar-winner “Oppenheimer,” guest starred on the hit FX series “The Bear” and starred in M. Night Shymalan’s summer thriller “Trap” in rapid succession. 

Hartnett next stars in the film “Fight or Flight,” which will be released in 2025.