The March snapshots of Josh Hartnett and a blood-splattered Dakota Johnson in New York City picked up serious steam on social media, with fans of the Colleen Hoover book the film is based on weighing in. It was the "perfect storm," the Verity director, 55, told PEOPLE.
Asked if he had a strong reaction to the leak at the Dec. 2 premiere of his new holiday movie Oh. What. Fun., the director said, "I mean, it was sort of wild to see that -- how viral that went."
"But you know, people love Colleen Hoover and people love Dakota and people love blood," he continued, "and so the combination of those three things, I think, were a perfect storm."
"I'm so excited for the movie," Showalter added.
In the leaked set photos, Johnson, 36, who plays struggling writer Lowen, appeared to depict a scene from the book involving a car accident with a cyclist. In character as Jeremy Crawford, Hartnett, 47, then seemingly arrived in the scene as he and Johnson's character crossed a street together.
Verity also stars Anne Hathaway as best-selling thriller author Verity Crawford. The Amazon MGM Studios movie will tell the story of Johnson's struggling writer, who lands a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to finish a successful series by the titular novelist.
Hathaway, 43, was also seen filming the adaptation in N.Y.C. with Harnett. In February, the costars were photographed running through the streets as they held hands.
While confirming that Hathaway had joined the movie back in November 2024, PEOPLE also reported that the Oscar-winning actress would work on the film as a producer alongside Showalter, whom she previously worked with on The Idea of You.
The 2024 romance film -- like Verity and Oh. What. Fun. -- is a story that centers on a mother.
Asked about the through line in his recent projects at the premiere of the Michelle Pfeiffer-fronted Christmas flick, Showalter admitted it wasn't exactly deliberate.
"It's not intentional, but I do somehow tend to gravitate towards stories with female protagonists. I'm not sure exactly why that is," the director told PEOPLE. "I'm not gonna question it, but I just... I somehow connect to their stories, myself even though I'm not a woman, and so it's just kind of happened that way."
"There's no, like, big plan there," added Showalter, "but I definitely do really relate to these characters, and I feel sympathy for them and I feel love for them and I want to tell their story."