Anne Hathaway, 41, dubbed a cougar for upcoming film ‘The Idea of You’ with Nicholas Galitzine, 29

It’s set to be one of the buzziest rom-coms of the year, but Anne Hathaway’s upcoming film has divided fans with its controversial storyline.

Anne Hathaway’s upcoming rom-com film The Idea of You has divided social media users following its trailer debut.

Based on the 2017 romance novel by Robinne Lee of the same name, the movie follows single mum Solène Marchand (Hathaway, 41) who attends Coachella with her daughter only to have a chance encounter with the dashing Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine, 29) from the fictional boy band August Moon.

“As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship,” the plot synopsis reads. “And Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.”

The sizzling trailer for the film, which has been compared to Harry Styles’ romance with Olivia Wilde, certainly got the masses talking on social media.

The trailer for Anne Hathaway's new movie The Idea of You has dropped.

The film co-stars Nicholas Galitzine as Hathaway’s much younger love interest.

“I’m so weirded out by this,” one critic wrote. “But I’ll probably watch it anyway.”

“Anne Hathaway as a cougar in a movie? Of course I’m going to see it,” joked a second person.

“It’s disgusting,” a third user seethed. “It’s disgusting to see her acting with someone who looks 20 years younger.”

Others took issue that Hathaway was cast in general.

“How much did they pay Anne for this my god,” tweeted one person.

The pair are seen getting hot and heavy in the trailer.

“What kind of crime did Anne Hathaway commit to agree to make a film like this,” lambasted another. “For the love of God, you know, what a shame.”

“My most sincere congratulations to the man who convinced Oscar winner Anne Hathaway to play a MILF who makes out with Harry Styles,” another said.

“I’ll be sitting but I still wonder what they said to Anne Hathaway to convince her to make a film based on a fanfic,” one wrote.

One savvy social media user also pointed out a plot hole from the teaser.

“Obsessed with the fact that the whole reason she meets him is because she takes her daughter to Coachella and yet said daughter is virtually non-existent in this trailer,” they wrote. “NEVER let your kids get in the way of your torrid love affair with fake Harry Styles.”

The movie is centred around the fictional boy band August Moon.

Before being picked up by Amazon Prime Studios, The Idea of You exploded in popularity thanks to the fan-fiction writing site called Wattpad, where users discussed the book as a tribute to Styles.

Once the book was officially published by St. Martin’s Griffin, Lee, 49, slammed the idea that Hayes is supposed to represent Styles.

“This was never supposed to be a book about Harry Styles,” Lee told Vogue in 2020. “It was supposed to be a story about a woman approaching 40 and reclaiming her sexuality and rediscovering herself, just at the point that society traditionally writes women off as desirable and viable and whole.”

The Idea of You debuts on Prime Video on May 2.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Anne Hathaway, 41, dubbed a cougar for upcoming film ‘The Idea of You’ with Nicholas Galitzine, 29