After Verity, Layla Is The Colleen Hoover Book Hollywood Needs To Adapt Next

Published Oct 3, 2026, 10:40 AM EDT

Karlis has been obsessing over television and movie news since he first learned how to read. He has worked in tech, as a musician, and in journalism with a well-rounded knowledge base of pop-culture throughout the eras. He claims that he has memorized the entire Internet Movie Database, and to date no one has been able to refute this.
Holding a Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University, Karlis loves to examine the intersections of popular science-fiction and culture. His latest novel MASS. is available now on Amazon and examines a world where obesity has become a federal crime.

Verity is the latest big Colleen Hoover adaptation to hit cinemas, and the popular author has the perfect book to be adapted next. The history of Colleen Hoover adaptations has been an interesting one, with a handful of compelling films that have tended toward a mixed reception from critics and inconsistent success at the box office, despite strong audience responses.

The controversies around the first big Colleen Hoover adaptation, It Ends with Us, were at least a part of this. Despite being a decent film and a strong box office hit, discussions about It Ends with Us were almost entirely focused on the production difficulties that occurred between star Blake Lively and her co-star and director, Justin Baldoni.

The Colleen Hoover adaptations that have followed performed much more modestly at the box office. Still, Regretting You found tremendous streaming success, and Reminders of Him was still a decent adaptation of one of Hoover's best books. This has left audiences hungry for more films based on her novels.

Colleen Hoover has written many books, and eleven of them have become New York Times Best Sellers. With this in mind, there is great potential that can be drawn from all kinds of her novels in translating them to film.

With this in mind, there is one clear work in her bibliography that would be the perfect choice for the next adaptation.

Why Colleen Hoover Novels Work So Well On Film

Colleen Hoover's books have great potential for cinematic adaptations. They don't shy away from dark and human themes, and tell accessible stories often about romance and connection with great, well-fleshed-out characters. This gives each adaptation strong potential for standout performances.

In addition, Hoover knows how to write great drama. Stories like Regretting You are packed with tremendous secrets that continue to unfurl, making the stories so compelling and gripping. Novels like November 9 capitalize on this storytelling technique and fill their powerful drama with surprising twists.

In turn, great stars have been drawn to Hoover's films. Blake Lively, Mckenna Grace, Dave Franco, and Maika Monroe are only a few of the memorable stars that have turned in excellent performances in these adaptations. With a stunning trio including Josh Hartnett, Anne Hathaway, and Dakota Johnson, Verity might have the best cast yet.

While books like It Starts With Us have the potential to become movies as sequels, Hoover has a wealth of original stories that could make for great adaptations. One of those books would be perfect for her next movie.

Why Layla Needs To Be The Next Movie Adaptation

Layla is a twisted and clever paranormal thriller and romance novel that would be the perfect choice for the next Colleen Hoover adaptation. With all of the attention on Verity, it is becoming clear that Hoover's stories that lean into darker textures have the greatest potential for box office performance.

While the author's many works, including Ugly Love, could make for strong romantic films, recent audiences have tended to be drawn more generally to stories with a more dramatic hook. Exciting thrillers like the recent The Housemaid have been huge successes by appealing to a love for darker thrills, wrapped up in the textures of romantic stories.

Layla is a fantastic novel with a great romantic core that examines some deeply human themes, but it is also a ghost story that includes terrifying elements of possession. With twists and turns even darker than the ones seen in Verity, Layla has great potential to be a fantastic film and a huge box office success.

To be fair, most of Colleen Hoover's novels could make for great films. Her books are full of strong stories that confront topical themes. In an attempt to capitalize on what makes Verity so compelling, however, Layla is clearly the best choice for the next adaptation of her works.