The Idea of You director on major book change: 'We wanted a hopeful ending'

But while book readers are extremely excited to watch the new movie, there is one aspect of the story many are hoping might depart from how things played out in novel: the ending.

In the book, main characters Sólene and Hayes do not end up together following their passionate and unexpected romance, which caused a degree of devastation among readers desperate to see them get a happy ending.

But while the film is an otherwise fairly faithful adaptation, director Michael Showalter has teased that there could be more cause for celebration come the end of the drama.

"I think, for me, it was more just as the filmmaker, and as a fan of romantic comedy and romantic movies, this felt like the kind of movie where we wanted to give the audience a hopeful ending," he told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview ahead of release.

"And so, we certainly could have ended the movie in a different way. But for this story, we felt like a more uplifting ending was what would be most satisfying for our audience. And ultimately, the audience is what matters most when making a movie like this."

Read more:

• The Idea of You producer explains Nicholas Galitzine's boy band "boot camp"
• Challengers writer reveals how Serena Williams helped inspire new Zendaya film

Meanwhile, producer Cathy Schulman explained that it's always challenging and "nerve-wracking" to adapt a novel for the screen, especially one that "has that sort of a audience frenzy behind it".

She added: "The way that I like to approach it is that you have to really capture the spirit of a book, but you can't get sort of stuck in the details of the format.

"A book and filmed entertainment are so completely different - one is internalised one is externalised - and so, you know, I always try to look at it like, what is the mood and the underlying kind of spirit... that comes out of the novel? And to take that and bring it forward."

The Idea of You comes to Prime Video on Thursday 2nd May.

Visit our Film hub for more new and features, or find something to watch with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.