What if you watched Romeo and Juliet’s story from the point of view of someone else? Hulu’s new film Rosaline explores their story from the eyes of Juliet’s cousin (Kaitlyn Dever). The movie is based on the book When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle.

Karen Maine directed the film while Scott Neustadter wrote the screenplay. He’s previously written screenplays for the adaptations Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, and Daisy Jones & The Six. Maine previously wrote and directed the comedy-drama Yes, God, Yes. Dever is both the star and an executive producer of Rosaline. Other executive producers include Whitney Brown (Hemlock Grove), Becca Edelman (Shadow and Bone, Dash & Lily), and Emily Morris (Stranger Things).

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Get ready to hear about the chapter in Romeo and Juliet’s story that’s always been left out.

Rosaline: The Plot

     Hulu

Everyone knows the story of Romeo & Juliet. The tragic tale of two star-crossed lovers that don’t get their happy ending but end the feud between their parents, so at least they had a positive impact on the world around them. What if part of their story was that Juliet’s cousin Rosaline was Romeo’s ex-girlfriend and tried to break them up the whole time?

Rosaline and Romeo had their romance, but when Juliet enters the picture, that’s gone. While Rosaline initially wants to win back Romeo and ruin her cousin’s chance at love, she may come around. However, her heart is set on stopping the wedding through any means necessary.

The trailer shows Rosaline trying to sow doubt wherever possible. From implying that every woman in town has been with Romeo to taking her cousin to a bar to introduce her to other men who are happy to buy her a drink, her efforts are to no avail. When Juliet tells her cousin she’s going to fake her death, the reason why isn’t revealed, it seems evident that Juliet is willing to do whatever it takes to keep Romeo by her side. Whose efforts will be worth it in the end?

In the book, Rosaline has been pining for Romeo, named Rob, for years. All she’s ever wanted is for them to become an item. Just when it looks like that will happen for her, her cousin Juliet comes to town. The two ladies used to be best friends, but that isn’t the case anymore. It doesn’t look like this translated to the film, as the trailer shows the two of them on pretty good terms until Juliet finds out Rosaline wants Romeo for herself. Additionally, Rosaline begins to help Juliet and Romeo be together in the book as she moves through a journey of self-discovery, so we’ll have to see if that is included in the adaptation.

Rosaline: The Cast

Kaitlyn Dever is Rosaline. She’s known for her work in Last Man Standing, Dear Evan Hansen, Dopesick, Booksmart, and Unbelievable. Her cousin Juliet is played by Isabela Merced. Merced has starred in the films Let It Snow, Instant Family, and Dora and the Lost City of Gold, and has been cast in Marvel’s Madame Web. Their Romeo is Kyle Allen. The actor has been in American Horror Story, West Side Story, and The In Between.

The cast also includes Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale, Get Out) as Friar Laurence, Spencer Stevenson as Paris, Sean Teale (Reign) as Dario, Minnie Driver (Will & Grace) as The Nurse, Miloud Mourad Benamara (House of Gucci) as Custodian, Christopher McDonald (American Crime Story, Hacks) as Lord Capulet​​​​​​​, Henry Hunter Hall (Hunters)​​​​​​​ as Mercutio, Alhaji Fofana (Silent Witness) as Benvolio​​​​​​​, and Spencer Stevenson (The Purge)​​​​​​​ as Paris.

Release Date

The film will be available to stream on Hulu on October 14, 2022.

Everything Else We Know

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While promoting her book’s release, the author spoke to Teen Vogue about her inspiration for writing the book. The idea for the story came to her while at a friend’s house when Romeo & Juliet came up in conversation.

The Hulu movie isn’t the first attempt at an adaptation of When You Were Mine, but it is the first one to make it to screens. After the book’s release in 2012, Fox 2000 was set to adapt it. The film had been cast, with Emilia Clarke and Dave Franco set to star, with Michael Sucsy going to direct. The film moved to Universal, and while the director and producers came with it, the cast did not. That film never came to fruition.

“My own heartbreak. I was over at my best friend’s apartment, and we were chatting about love stories. Romeo and Juliet came up, and with it, this question: what ever happened to Rosaline? Instantly, I remember saying, ‘That’s my book; that’s my story.” I felt like I really understood Rosaline and I knew what it felt like to be the girl who got left behind."

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Rosaline also isn’t the only media based on Serle’s work. The Freeform show Famous in Love, which featured Bella Thorne, is based on her duology of the same name. Deadline announced in April that New Line and HBO Max would be adapting her book In Five Years.

While you wait to find out what parts of the story had been hidden all these years, check out some new shows coming to Hulu this month.