“Downton Abbey” actress Lily James, Sam Riley (“Maleficent”) and Bella Heathcote will star in the long-stalled movie version of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.”
Filming will start in September. Cross Creek Pictures, which has a distribution deal with Universal, has acquired domestic rights with a commitment for a wide U.S. release.
Burr Steers (“Charlie St. Cloud”) is directing from a screenplay he wrote with David O. Russell.
Producers are Cross Creek topper Brian Oliver, Allison Shearmur, Sean McKittrick, Natalie Portman, Annette Savitch, Tyler Thompson and Marc Butan.
Sierra/Affinity is handling foreign sales. The project had been set up with Panorama last year but came over to Sierra/Affinity with Butan earlier this year
James will play Elizabeth Bennet; Riley will portray Mr. Darcy; and Heathcote has been cast Elizabeth’s sister.
The project is based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 novel, which is a mashup of the modern zombie horror genre with Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”
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The news was first reported by Deadline.com.
