Cross Creek Pictures, along with Universal, has gotten the ball rolling again on the long awaited production of Seth Grahame-Smith’s parody of the Jane Austin classic, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Director/Actor Burr Steers, known for directing the 2002 flick Igby Goes Down is set to direct the movie, which will star Lily James as Elizabeth Bennet, along side Sam Riley (Maleficent) in the role of Mr. Darcy. James is best known for her role on the hit BBC television series Downton Abbey, in which she plays spirited cousin to the Crawley Sisters, Lady Rose MacClare. Australian Actress Bella Heathcote has also been cast in the movie as Elizabeth Bennet’s Sister.
Burr Steers and David O. Russell wrote the screen adaptation of Grahame-Smith’s book, which mixes Victorian values with the walking dead. A world where young women learn the finer points of needle work, hospitality and kicking zombie butt. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has had several false starts since 2010, three Directors having picked up and subsequently dropped it for one reason or another, studio changes have taken place and Actors have been cast and then passed on the leads roles. Fans of the story will have to wait and see if this new creator combo sticks, finally getting the popular book to the silver screen.
Actress Natalie Portman, Allison Shearmur, Brian Oliver, Sean McKittrick, Tyler Thompson, Annette Savitch and Marc Butan are producing the film, which is projected for a 2015 release.
Source: Deadline