Universal Pictures unveiled the first trailer for Reminders of Him on October 21, 2025, offering a glimpse into the emotional wreckage of Colleen Hoover’s 2022 bestseller, with scream queen Maika Monroe leading as a young mother battling for redemption after prison. Directed by Vanessa Caswill and co-written by Hoover herself, the film promises the kind of gut-punch storytelling that has made Hoover’s adaptations box-office juggernauts, blending forbidden romance, buried family secrets, and raw maternal desperation set against a small-town backdrop.

The two-minute teaser, scored to the haunting strains of Lord Huron’s “The Night We Met,” opens with flashbacks to Monroe’s character, Kenna Rowan, in the flush of young love. Working a dead-end shift at a dollar store, she catches the eye of charming customer Scotty Landry, played by Outer Banks heartthrob Rudy Pankow. Quick cuts show their whirlwind courtship—stolen kisses over single-use yellow plates, a sun-dappled picnic that feels ripped from a fairy tale. “There was before you and there was during you,” Kenna narrates in Monroe’s steady, voiceover, her tone laced with foreshadowed regret. “I never thought there would be an after you.”

The idyll shatters in an instant: screeching tires, shattering glass, and a fatal car crash that claims Scotty’s life, landing Kenna behind bars for seven years on charges tied to the accident. Fast-forward to her release, and Monroe’s portrayal shifts to a hollow-eyed survivor, her once-vibrant spirit dulled by isolation. Returning to her unnamed Southern hometown, Kenna’s singular mission is to reclaim custody of her now-5-year-old daughter, Diem, who’s been raised by Scotty’s protective parents—sternly embodied by Gilmore Girls alum Lauren Graham and The West Wing‘s Bradley Whitford. The grandparents’ resistance forms the story’s emotional core, a wall of grief-fueled judgment that Kenna must chip away at, one awkward playground encounter at a time.

Enter Ledger Ward, the brooding bar owner played by rising star Tyriq Withers, whose quiet intensity steals every frame he’s in. Withers, fresh off roles in I Know What You Did Last Summer and the indie drama Him, brings a layered vulnerability to Ledger—a single dad and community fixture who’s secretly Kenna’s reluctant ally. Hired to bus tables at his dive, Kenna navigates their charged chemistry amid stolen glances and late-night confessions. “You’re trouble,” Ledger growls in one trailer snippet, his hand lingering a beat too long on hers, hinting at the forbidden sparks that ignite despite the town’s watchful eyes. Their bond, fraught with ethical minefields—he knows Diem’s family intimately—builds to a slow-burn tension that Hoover fans know culminates in heartbreak.

The trailer’s tear-jerking twist hits at the 1:20 mark: a rain-soaked confrontation where Kenna, voice cracking, pleads with Ledger outside his bar, only for Diem to toddle into frame, clutching a faded photo of her parents. “Is that my mommy?” the child whispers, oblivious to the adults’ unraveling. Monroe’s face crumples in a raw, unfiltered sob—her eyes swollen, makeup streaking—that has already sparked a torrent of emotional reactions online. “I ugly-cried in 30 seconds,” one X user posted, while TikTok stitches of the scene have racked up 5 million views, users fanning themselves and mouthing “Not the baby!” in unison.

Monroe, 32, discussed her deep dive into the role during a recent Variety actors-on-actors chat, crediting Hoover’s unflinching prose for the challenge. “Kenna’s not a villain or a victim—she’s just broken, fighting for a piece of what she lost,” Monroe said. “There was so much to explore, so many layers. I felt like I could always understand where she was coming from, even through the trauma.” Best known for terrorizing audiences in It Follows and this summer’s hit Longlegs, Monroe’s pivot to Hoover’s weepy romance marks a bold departure, one she’s embraced with the same ferocity. “Horror preps you for emotional extremes,” she added. “Screaming on set? That’s just crying with teeth.”

Withers, 28, echoed the sentiment in a People interview, praising Monroe’s on-set levity amid the heaviness. “Tyriq is a gem, so incredibly talented,” Monroe shared. “We had a lot of hard days, and he kept me laughing, which was very much needed.” Their chemistry crackles in the trailer, a magnetic push-pull that promises to echo the will-they-won’t-they angst of Hoover’s page-turners. Supporting turns add depth: country singer Lainey Wilson makes her film debut as Kenna’s no-nonsense bestie, doling out tough-love wisdom over barstools, while Nicholas Duvernay rounds out the ensemble as a town gossip with a soft spot.

Reminders of Him arrives as Hoover’s third big-screen outing in quick succession, hot on the heels of 2024’s It Ends With Us—which grossed $250 million worldwide despite backlash over its domestic abuse themes—and the just-dropped Regretting You, starring Allison Williams and Dave Franco. Directed by Caswill (Love at First Sight), the film boasts an all-female core creative team, with Hoover and screenwriter Lauren Levine (Verity) penning the adaptation. Producers include Hoover, Levine, Gina Matthews (13 Going on 30), and Grant Scharbo, emphasizing the novel’s fidelity. “We stayed true to the book’s pain, hope, and forgiveness,” Hoover told Deadline. “Translating that to screen was cathartic.”

Hoover’s empire shows no signs of slowing. The Texas-based author, whose TikTok-fueled rise turned her into a publishing phenomenon with over 20 million books sold, has Verity—starring Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway—slated for October 2026. But Reminders taps into her signature blend of swoony escapism and soul-crushing stakes, a formula that’s hooked Gen Z readers and now threatens to dominate awards chatter. Early buzz positions Monroe for a Supporting Actress nod, her vulnerable ferocity a far cry from Romy’s screams.

Social media lit up post-trailer drop, with #RemindersOfHimTrailer surging to 2 million mentions on X. Fans dissected every frame: “Tyriq as the soft-hearted bar guy? I’m seated,” one tweeted, while another warned, “If the book gutted me, this movie’s gonna bury me.” Critics’ early peeks praise the restraint— no over-the-top montages, just quiet devastation. The Hollywood Reporter called it “Hoover’s most intimate adaptation yet, anchored by Monroe’s career-best work.”

Shot on location in Atlanta over summer 2025, the production leaned into authenticity, with Hoover visiting set daily to tweak dialogue. “Seeing Maika become Kenna was surreal,” she posted on Instagram, sharing a behind-the-scenes snap of Monroe poring over the novel’s dog-eared pages. The trailer’s cinematography, lensed by Golden Globe winner Danny Cohen (The King’s Speech), bathes scenes in golden-hour glows that belie the encroaching shadows, mirroring Kenna’s fragile hope.

As Reminders of Him barrels toward its March 13, 2026, release, it cements Hoover’s grip on the romance-drama lane. In a post-It Ends With Us landscape where audiences crave catharsis over confection, this tale of second chances and shattered legacies hits like a freight train. Monroe’s comeback isn’t just a role—it’s a revelation, proving the horror darling can shatter hearts as deftly as she summons chills. Withers, too, emerges as a breakout, his Ledger a powder keg of suppressed longing. With tears already flowing from a two-minute preview, the full feature threatens to flood theaters. Hoover’s reminders? Some scars never fade—they just rewrite the story.