Colleen Hoover’s emotional powerhouse Reminders of Him, the 2022 novel that sold over 6 million copies and became a Wattpad sensation, is charging toward the big screen with a first-look trailer that tugs every heartstring. Dropped by Universal Pictures on October 21, 2025, the two-minute preview spotlights Maika Monroe as a desperate young mother clawing her way back to her daughter after prison, and Tyriq Withers as the brooding bar owner who becomes her unlikely lifeline – all under the steady hand of director Vanessa Caswill. Set for a March 13, 2026, theatrical release, the film marks Hoover’s third adaptation in as many years, following the box-office smash It Ends With Us and the upcoming Regretting You. With an all-female filmmaking team and a cast blending indie grit with country charm, this romantic drama promises to deliver Hoover’s signature blend of heartbreak and hope, but early clips suggest it’ll hit harder than a freight train of feels.

The trailer opens on a rain-slicked highway, where Monroe’s Kenna Rowell – wide-eyed and weary after seven years behind bars – clutches a faded photo of her toddler daughter, Diem, as thunder cracks overhead. “I lost everything in one night,” her voiceover rasps, flashing back to a foggy car crash that claimed her boyfriend Scotty’s life – a “tragic accident” that landed her in prison and alienated her family. Released on her 26th birthday, Kenna returns to her sleepy Tennessee hometown, only to face slammed doors from Diem’s custodial grandparents and judgmental stares from old friends. Enter Withers’ Ledger Ward, a tattooed ex-NFL player turned bar owner with a guarded heart and a surprising soft spot for strays. “Some reminders you can’t shake,” he drawls in a dimly lit tavern scene, handing Kenna a mop as their eyes lock – a spark that ignites amid pool cues and neon signs. Quick cuts tease the tension: stolen kisses in a rain-lashed alley, a tense custody hearing where Diem’s tiny hand reaches for a stranger, and a gut-punch confrontation where Ledger’s secret ties to the child’s family threaten to unravel it all. The score swells with a haunting cover of Lord Huron’s “The Night We Met,” fading to black on Kenna’s whispered vow: “I’ll remind her who I am – even if it kills me.”

Hoover, the Texas-based author whose books have topped charts in 45 languages, co-wrote the screenplay with Lauren Levine (Bridge to Terabithia, Confess), infusing it with the raw vulnerability that made her a TikTok titan. “This story’s about second chances – the messy, beautiful kind,” Hoover told People in an exclusive October 20 interview, sharing how the trailer’s emotional core mirrors her own motherhood fears. The novel, part of her “Culpables” series with over 1.5 billion Wattpad reads, explores themes of forgiveness and forbidden love through Kenna’s lens – a tattooed rebel piecing together a life from fragments. Directed by Caswill (Love at First Sight), the film boasts an all-women production team, including producers Gina Matthews and Robin Fisichella, emphasizing empowerment amid the pain. “Vanessa captured the quiet devastation,” Monroe said at a virtual press junket, praising the Calgary shoot that overlapped Brokeback Mountain‘s iconic locales for added poetic grit.

Monroe, 32, fresh off her chilling turn as a psychic in Longlegs (2024’s sleeper horror hit), brings fierce fragility to Kenna – a role that required vulnerability workshops to nail the prison flashbacks. “She’s not a victim; she’s a warrior fighting for her kid,” Monroe told Collider in March 2025, when she was first cast. Withers, 25, the rising star from Hulu’s Tell Me Lies and upcoming slashers I Know What You Did Last Summer and Jordan Peele’s Him, infuses Ledger with brooding charm and hidden depths – a barman with NFL scars and a closet full of regrets. “Tyriq’s a gem – so talented, he makes the heartbreak feel real,” Monroe gushed to People, recounting how their chemistry sparked during a rain-soaked kiss retake that “took 20 tries but felt like one.” Their rapport shines in the trailer: a charged glance over a jukebox, his hand steadying hers during a panic attack, hinting at the slow-burn romance that Hoover fans crave.

The supporting ensemble adds star power and country twang. Rudy Pankow (Outer Banks) flashes back as the doomed Scotty, his boyish grin a heartbreaking contrast to Kenna’s guilt. Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) plays the steely grandmother guarding Diem like a fortress, while Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) brings wry warmth as Ledger’s bar buddy. Lainey Wilson, the Grammy-nominated “Heartless” hitmaker making her film debut, croons an original ballad over the end credits – a soulful lament co-written with Hoover that teases “redemption’s rough road.” Nicholas Duvernay rounds out as a shady rival rancher, injecting menace into the small-town idyll. “This cast is gold – they make the tears authentic,” Caswill told Deadline in June 2025, fresh off wrapping principal photography in Calgary’s misty foothills, where the crew braved -10°C nights for that raw, wintry feel.

Hoover’s adaptations are a hot streak: It Ends With Us grossed $350 million worldwide in 2024 despite Blake Lively’s controversy, and Regretting You drops November 14, 2025, with Sydney Sweeney. Reminders slots in as the emotional bridge, hitting theaters March 13, 2026, via Universal – a wide release with IMAX for those sweeping ranch vistas. Early screenings raved: A test audience in Dallas scored it 92% “tearjerker approved,” per insider buzz, with Monroe’s custody courtroom breakdown drawing comparisons to Room‘s raw power. Critics preview? Variety called the trailer “a swoony gut-punch,” praising Withers’ “smoldering restraint,” while The Hollywood Reporter noted, “Hoover’s formula shines: pain with a pretty bow.”

The film’s timing taps cultural nerves – post-prison reintegration stories like Just Mercy resonate amid U.S. incarceration debates, and Hoover’s mom-lit empire (over 20 million books sold) speaks to women craving flawed heroes. Yet, it’s not without edge: Kenna’s arc confronts systemic biases against single moms, with a subplot nodding to addiction’s shadows. “We wanted hope without sugarcoating,” Levine said at a Women in Film panel. Merch drops tease tie-ins: a “Reminders” journal line and a Spotify playlist curated by Wilson.

As March looms, Reminders of Him positions as Hoover’s redemption tale – for Kenna, and perhaps the author amid her 2023 controversy over domestic violence themes. With Monroe and Withers anchoring the storm, it’s poised to remind us: Love’s reminders aren’t always pretty, but they’re worth the fight. In theaters March 13 – tissues required.