In the wake of Sony’s success with Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us, which racked up $344.5M worldwide, Universal is getting in on the action with the New York Times bestselling author, having landed rights to her novel Reminders of Him. Though no director or stars are attached as of yet, the studio has aggressively dated the movie for Feb. 13, 2026 — the same Valetine’s Day corridor in which they’ve played their Fifty Shades of Grey movies.
Reminders of Him has sold over 5 million copies domestically, 6.5 million copies globally, and has been translated into 45 languages.
The novel follows Kenna Rowan, who returns to town after a five-year prison stint, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself. The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.
Hoover wrote the screenplay for Reminders of Him with Lauren Levine (who penned Bridge to Terabithia, Confess). Hoover and Levine will be producing through their Heartbones Ent.
Hoover said this AM, “I am thrilled to be working with Universal to bring Kenna Rowan’s world to life. I hear from many readers who tell me they found something of themselves in her story of living with and through tragedy and doing the often messy and imperfect work of healing and turning the page to a fresh chapter in life. I am excited as Reminders of Him holds a special place in my heart too. I feel confident Universal is the right partner to do this story justice. What better way to launch Heartbones Entertainment, my company with producing partner Lauren Levine. Our aim is to create something quite special for everyone.”
Levine added, “This is a dream debut for Heartbones. We couldn’t have a stronger partner for our first film than Universal or a more representative project for the stories we are passionate about telling than Reminders of Him. Colleen’s legions of fans demonstrate that women are yearning for more authentic stories about their lives. Heartbones aims to deliver to movies what Colleen has done so successfully in publishing, and we know these stories will find emotional and economic resonance in the modern movie business.”
The deal was managed by UTA.
Deadline previously reported first that Paramount landed rights to the Constantin Film package Regretting You, an adaptation of Hoover’s 2019 bestseller with Josh Boone directing and Allison Williams, Dave Franco (The Disaster Artist), Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire) and Mason Thames (Black Phone) starring.