As book fans and thriller lovers head to theaters this weekend to check out the book-to-screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover's Verity, which has finally arrived on the 2026 movie schedule, there's another highly anticipated adaptation of a buzzy book on the way: Caro Claire Burke's Yesteryear. As Anne Hathaway is set to star in and produce the upcoming film, we had to check in with her about it when we had the opportunity to interview her for Verity. Specifically, we wanted to know if there's any word on who might play Caleb, the main character's husband. While Hathaway wouldn't give much away, her Verity co-star, Josh Hartnett, did toss out his own preference, but he's probably a bit biased.
🟡 If you haven't read the book, I will post a warning when it's time to get into book spoilers in this article, so keep an eye out for that. However, everything up to that point is safe. 🟢
Who Will Play Caleb In The Yesteryear Movie?
When we found out CinemaBlend's Riley Utley would be sitting down with Anne Hathaway to talk about Verity, some of us at the site were very hopeful she bring us an update on Yesteryear. We were especially curious to know if there was anything she could tell us about casting for her character Natalie's on-screen husband, Caleb. And here's what Hathaway said:
Okay, amazing. I cannot say a word except that there will be a husband, and he will be played by an actor. Yes, and that will be revealed at some point in the next six months to an infinite amount of time.
So... basically she's not saying anything yet. Completely fair! We had to ask. But the conversation didn't quite end with that. Josh Hartnett, who was also in the interview, offered up his own response, saying:
His name starts with a J and ends with a –artnett.
My first reaction to his response was to laugh, not only because Hartnett seems to be joking in the way he throws his hat into the ring for the Yesteryear role, but also because he's literally there to promote a movie where he plays Hathaway's character's husband. "We can scare audiences again!," is how Hathaway responds to her Verity co-star with a grin. It was a cute bit, and then I actually thought about Hartnett playing the character, and now I really do think it'd be amazing casting -- and not just because I want to see Hartnett and Hathaway team up again.
Yesteryear centers on Natalie, a social media influencer who proudly shows her followers her life as a "traditional" wife and mom, living on a ranch. The twist comes when she awakes to find herself living in the 1800s on a ranch with a family she doesn't recognize. Understanding Natalie in both her regular life and this surreal situation she's found herself in, while also following her as she tries to figure out what is actually going on is what makes the book so hard to put down.
I've already gone on record as saying that Anne Hathaway is perfect casting for the movie adaptation, and now I want to talk about the idea of Josh Hartnett as the husband, because I'm here for it! The thing is, I can't do that without getting into spoilers, so this is your time to stop reading if you haven't read the book yet! Spoilers beyond this point! 🛑
Like Natalie, Casting For Caleb Needs To Be JUST Right (And Hartnett Would Be A Great Option)
🛑Spoiler alert: I'm about to get into major spoilers from the Yesteryear novel. Read no further if you haven't read the book! Seriously, don't spoil yourself.
Casting is always a big topic when it comes to book-to-screen adaptations, but the subject of who will play Caleb is even more interesting in this case, when we factor in the twist in the book. There are two versions of Caleb in the book, the one in her life as an influencer, and the older one in her 19th Century life. Whoever plays the role of Caleb will have the challenge of portraying the character two very different ways.
The passive, privileged man Natalie meets at college and starts a family with is, in many ways, very different from the gruff and aggressive husband she's married to in her frontier life. Whoever plays him has to be someone who can carry off both sides of that coin, and I really think Josh Hartnett is the kind actor who can pull it off well.
As Riley noted when she posed the question to Anne Hathaway, Burke mentioned a "Jesse Plemons vibe" being good for the character (in an interview with Variety). He'd be another great option, as he's proven he can play a timid character as well as he can play someone with a darker side.
Whether or not either Plemons or Hartnett are actually in any kind of discussions for the role remains to be revealed, but I do hope they find someone who can bring all of the layers of the character to life well. In the meantime, it's fun to speculate and consider who might play well opposite Anne Hathaway in this film while we wait fore more updates on the adaptation.
