Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson are heading into much darker territory with “Verity,” Amazon MGM Studios’ upcoming adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling psychological thriller.

The film follows a struggling writer who accepts what appears to be a career-changing assignment, only to discover a disturbing manuscript inside the home of a famous author. What begins as a professional opportunity quickly turns into a dangerous mystery involving family secrets, attraction and the increasingly difficult question of what can actually be believed.

Amazon MGM Studios has confirmed that “Verity” will open in theaters worldwide on October 2, 2026, with Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett leading the cast.

Dakota Johnson Plays a Writer Who Takes a Mysterious New Job

Dakota Johnson stars as Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer who is hired under unusual circumstances to finish a successful book series for acclaimed author Verity Crawford.

Verity, played by Anne Hathaway, is unable to complete the work herself, leading Lowen to move into the Crawford family’s remote home while reviewing the author’s notes and unfinished material.

At first, the assignment appears to offer Lowen a rare professional opportunity.

But while searching through Verity’s work, she discovers something she was never expecting: a set of deeply unsettling autobiographical writings that appear to contain disturbing confessions about Verity’s family.

From that point forward, the job becomes much more than simply completing someone else’s books.

Anne Hathaway Takes on the Mysterious Role of Verity Crawford

Hathaway plays Verity Crawford, the bestselling author at the center of the story.

The trailer presents Verity as an unsettling and difficult-to-read presence, even while much of what Lowen learns about her comes through written words rather than direct explanations.

That uncertainty is central to the story.

Lowen begins questioning whether the manuscript she has discovered is an honest confession, a piece of fiction, or something designed to manipulate whoever reads it.

The movie appears to lean heavily into that ambiguity, allowing Hathaway’s character to remain mysterious while Lowen tries to understand what really happened inside the Crawford family.

Josh Hartnett Plays Verity’s Husband Jeremy

Josh Hartnett stars as Jeremy Crawford, Verity’s husband and the person who brings Lowen into the family’s complicated world.

As Lowen spends more time inside the Crawford home, her relationship with Jeremy becomes increasingly personal.

The trailer suggests a growing attraction between them, adding another layer of tension to an already dangerous situation.

Lowen is no longer simply trying to determine whether Verity’s manuscript is truthful. She is also becoming emotionally involved with the very family whose secrets she is attempting to uncover.

That combination of attraction, suspicion and uncertainty appears to drive much of the film’s psychological tension.

The Trailer Reveals a Story Where Nothing Feels Completely Reliable

Rather than presenting “Verity” as a straightforward mystery, the trailer emphasizes uncertainty.

Lowen discovers disturbing written material. She begins noticing strange behavior around the house. Her connection with Jeremy deepens. And the difference between what she reads, what she sees and what she believes becomes increasingly difficult to separate.

The official description from Amazon MGM Studios frames the story around Lowen’s struggle to distinguish fiction from reality, manipulation from attraction and opportunity from obsession.

That makes the central mystery bigger than simply asking whether the manuscript is true.

The more important question may be whether Lowen — and the audience — can trust anyone involved.

The Movie Comes From Director Michael Showalter

“Verity” is directed by Michael Showalter, whose recent projects include “The Idea of You,” also starring Anne Hathaway.

The screenplay is credited to Nick Antosca and Colleen Hoover, bringing the novel’s author directly into the adaptation process.

Hoover’s original novel was first self-published in 2018 before being acquired by Grand Central Publishing and becoming a major bestseller.

The success of the book created a large built-in audience for the movie, particularly among readers familiar with its mixture of psychological suspense, romance and morally complicated characters.

Variety previously reported that Hathaway is also among the film’s producers, while Johnson serves as an executive producer.

The Cast Extends Beyond Hathaway, Johnson and Hartnett

While the three leads are likely to receive most of the attention, the official cast also includes Brady Wagner as Crew Crawford, along with Asel Swango and Daniel Echevarria.

The story remains centered primarily on Lowen, Verity and Jeremy, creating what appears to be an intense psychological triangle inside the Crawford home.

Each character has a different relationship with the truth, and the trailer deliberately avoids giving viewers enough information to determine which version of events should be believed.

The Film Appears to Preserve the Book’s Central Mystery

One of the biggest challenges facing any adaptation of “Verity” is preserving the uncertainty that made the novel so popular.

The book has generated years of debate among readers because information that initially appears definitive can later become much harder to interpret.

The trailer appears careful not to resolve that tension.

Instead, it focuses on the manuscript, the Crawford family’s troubled history, Lowen’s growing relationship with Jeremy and the increasingly threatening atmosphere inside the house.

For viewers who have not read the book, that means the movie can still function as a mystery without requiring any knowledge of the original story.

For existing fans, the more interesting question will be how the adaptation handles the novel’s most controversial and ambiguous elements.

“Verity” Arrives in Theaters October 2

Amazon MGM Studios will release “Verity” in theaters worldwide on October 2, 2026.

The film arrives as another major screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s work following the commercial success of movies based on several of her other novels.

But “Verity” is noticeably different from a traditional romantic drama.

Its story combines romance with psychological suspense, disturbing family secrets and an unreliable narrative in which almost every new discovery creates another question.

With Anne Hathaway playing the mysterious Verity Crawford, Dakota Johnson as the writer slowly drawn into her world and Josh Hartnett caught between them, the film is positioning itself as one of the fall’s most intriguing psychological thrillers.