Verity Movie Is 3 Weeks Away — Anne Hathaway & Dakota Johnson's Twisted Colleen Hoover Thriller Hits Theaters October 2

Anne Hathaway's Wildest Role Yet Is Almost Here

The year of Anne Hathaway is about to get a whole lot darker. After stealing scenes in The Devil Wears Prada 2, headlining Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, and leading The End of Oak Street, Hathaway is closing out 2026 with a hard left turn into erotic thriller territory. Verity, based on Colleen Hoover's darkest and most polarizing novel, hits theaters on October 2 — just three weeks away — and the trailer has already set BookTok on fire.

Directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, The Idea of You) and released by Amazon MGM Studios, the R-rated thriller co-stars Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett in what critics are already calling the "Anne Hathaway meets The Housemaid" event of the fall. Yes, you read that right — the Sydney Sweeney-led Housemaid adaptation finally has competition for the year's twistiest book-to-screen showdown.

What Is Verity Actually About?

Dakota Johnson plays Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling ghostwriter who lands what looks like a dream gig: finishing the next novel of bestselling author Verity Crawford (Hathaway), who was gravely injured in an accident and can no longer write. Verity's husband, played by Josh Hartnett, invites Lowen to move into their remote estate while she works. Big mistake. Huge.

As Lowen digs through Verity's unfinished manuscript, she uncovers dark, twisted secrets about the Crawford marriage — and starts a complicated affair with the husband while seemingly taking over Verity's life. Is Verity really as incapacitated as she seems? Or is someone playing a very long game? Hoover's 2018 novel famously split readers down the middle with its ambiguous ending, and fans are dying to see how screenwriter Nick Antosca (showrunner of Apple's Cape Fear series) handles it.

"I'm basically the bad guy I think," Johnson told Deadline. "It's so fun." Johnson is also one of the film's producers and admitted she didn't even know it was a Hoover novel when she first signed on: "People are really into it." Understatement of the year.

Why This Could Be Colleen Hoover's Biggest Hit Yet

Let's talk numbers, because Colleen Hoover is a straight-up box office juggernaut at this point. The author of 25+ books has already conquered Hollywood with It Ends With Us (starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni), Regretting You, and Reminders of Him — most of them genuine theatrical hits that proved romance and female-driven stories can pack cinemas.

"This is going to be a big year," Hoover told Entertainment Tonight back in March. "We've got Reminders of Him, and then I've got Verity coming out in October. I'm so, so thrilled for readers to see that one."

The supporting cast includes Ismael Cruz Cordova and Brady Wagner, and this marks the second collaboration between Showalter and Hathaway after The Idea of You. Hathaway herself has called this career moment "extremely surreal," telling PEOPLE: "I'm just gonna surf this wave for as long as it lasts."

So mark your calendars: October 2, theaters everywhere. Whether you're Team Manuscript or Team Plot Twist, Verity is shaping up to be the R-rated date-night movie of the fall — and the perfect lead-in to spooky season. Millennials, grab your book club besties. This one is going to spark arguments.