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Things are not always as they seem.
That’s the hazy reality of “Verity,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s literary sensation, starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett. Amazon MGM debuted the sizzling first trailer at CinemaCon on Wednesday night as part of the studio’s presentation to theater owners.
Described as a “gothic, psychosexual thriller,” the story revolves around famed author Verity Crawford (Hathaway), who gets badly injured after a devastating car accident. Her thriller novel that’s soon due is about to go unfinished, so her husband Jeremy (Hartnett) offers a struggling writer named Lowen (Johnson) a huge sum of money to complete the remaining books in the series. Lowen accepts the job but uncovers a dark secret in the process — an unfinished manuscript that hints at chilling admissions about Verity and her family’s past. As Lowen reads the draft, she has to determine whether Verity is a gifted fictionist or a deranged psychopath.
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The twisty trailer, which hasn’t been revealed to the public, opens in the past as Verity and Jeremy meet for the first time, at a bar. He approaches his future wife, who is wearing a striking red dress, and tells her: “You’ve had three drinks in 45 minutes. If you keep going, I’ll feel uncomfortable asking you to leave with me.”
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Verity accepts the offer, instructing the bartender, “I’ll have a water.”
Then, the footage flashes to the present as Verity is incapacitated after a tragic occurrence, unable to care for her son or feed herself. That’s when Lowen shows up at the couple’s massive remote home, where she’s about to take up residence for the time being to tackle the incomplete novel.
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“You’re the only writer who can do this,” Jeremy tells Lowen.
With an essentially bedridden Verity, Jeremy strikes up a romance with Lowen… but it’s not as effortless an affair as they’d imagine. Case in point: Jeremy and Lowen are getting hot and heavy on the couch, but when Lowen notices blood on her lip, she realizes that something even more sinister is happening. It’s not Jeremy she’s kissing, but Verity. Talk about a jump scare.
Just then, a detective asks Lowen, “Are you by chance working on the next Verity novel?” to which she swiftly replies, “It’s going to be the best one yet.”
Hoover’s novel “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’s the latest of Hoover’s works to get the big screen treatment after Sony’s drama-plagued “It Ends With Us” became a box office sleeper hit over the summer. A film version of Hoover’s book “Reminders of Him” is in the works at Universal Pictures.
Hathaway, Johnson and Hartnett weren’t in Las Vegas to present the first-look footage. But the trio sent a video, along with Hoover and director Mike Showalter, to tease “Verity” and play up the film’s on screen mystery.
“My character Verity Crawford is an accomplished author with a tragic past,” Hathaway hinted.
“Or is she?” Johnson interjected.
“My character, Jeremy Crawford, is a devoted husband who’s committed to protecting his wife’s legacy,” said Hartnett.
“Or is he?” Johnson teased.
Hathaway ended the clips with a promise: “One thing we can say for sure is that seeing ‘Verity’ in theaters will give fans the shared experience they’ve been waiting for.”
“Verity” opens in theaters on May 15, 2026. Amazon MGM’s head of distribution, Kevin Wilson, described the film as a “sexy, suspenseful thriller that’s the perfect way to start the summer movie season.”
