Before Romeo and Juliet, there was Romeo and Rosaline.
The prequel story to William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” play is reimagined with the first set of star-crossed lovers to meet a heartbreaking end, as reimagined by novelist Rebecca Serle in the 2010 YA book “When You Were Mine.”
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Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the duo behind adaptations for “The Fault in Our Stars,” “The Disaster Artist,” and the upcoming series “Daisy Jones and the Six,” penned the screenplay for the Hulu film “Rosaline” based on Serle’s novel. The film premieres October 14 on the streaming platform.
Kaitlyn Dever stars as the titular character previously unseen and only referenced in Shakespeare’s play. The film is described as a fresh comedic twist on Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in which the classic love story is told from the perspective of Juliet’s cousin Rosaline…who just happens to be Romeo’s ex-girlfriend.
“Space Oddity” and “West Side Story” star Kyle Allen plays love interest-slash-imminent heartbreaker Romeo, and Isabela Merced (“Father of the Bride,” “Dora the Explorer”) is cast as Juliet, who steals Rosaline’s man. Minnie Driver stars as The Nurse, with Bradley Whitford as Friar Laurence. Dever’s “Booksmart” co-star and breakout scene-stealer Nico Hiraga also stars.
“Rosaline” is helmed by Karen Maine, the director behind “Yes, God, Yes” and “Starstruck” series who also previously wrote the story of “Obvious Child.”
Per the official synopsis, “Rosaline” is a fresh and comedic twist on Shakespeare’s classic love story “Romeo & Juliet,” told from the perspective of Juliet’s cousin Rosaline (Dever), who also happens to be Romeo’s recent love interest. Heartbroken when Romeo (Allen) meets Juliet (Merced) and begins to pursue her, Rosaline schemes to foil the famous romance and win back her guy.
“Rosaline” in part acts as a who’s-who of Gen Z Hollywood, with lead star Dever hot off Emmy-nominated “Dopesick” and starring in upcoming Julia Roberts and George Clooney divorce rom-com “Ticket to Paradise.” Merced will appear in MCU installment “Madame Web” opposite Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, as well as Hannah Marks’ “Turtles All the Way Down.” And our Romeo 2.0 Allen will take over the role of popular cartoon character He-Man in the live-action “Masters of the Universe” remake.
Emmy nominee Dever told IndieWire that she follows her “gut feeling” and intuition when selecting roles.
“It’s pretty clear as soon as I read something,” the “Unbelievable” actress explained. “There’s a real, immediate, sort of like a full body physical and emotional reaction that makes me just be so desperate to want to be a part of those kinds of projects. I want to continue to look for that, chase that feeling, and seek out the projects that I think will be impactful in some sort of way. Because that’s the best combination of something on a job that I get to do, where I get to do what I love, but also be a part of something that will move the needle forward, or start a conversation in some sort of way.”
Check out the trailer for “Rosaline” below.
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