Sofia Coppola has previously either written her own scripts or adapted other material to fuel the likes of The Virgin Suicides and The Bling Ring. Now she's taking a crack at a remake, and is in the process of recruiting Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning to star in The Beguiled.
The 1971 original was directed by Don Siegel and cast Clint Eastwood as an injured Union soldier who is imprisoned in a Confederate girls' boarding school during the Civil War. He charms his way into the hearts of women of all ages at the institution and causes jealousy and betrayal to spread.
Somewhere veteran Fanning is already on board to play a student, while Kidman would be the head mistress and Coppola regular Dunst a teacher. According to The Wrap, Coppola will maintain the period setting, though we'd imagine she'll find some additional layers for the various characters. She wants to kick off shooting this year once she hires someone to play the soldier.
Kidman has recently worked on films including Genius, The Family Fang and How To Talk To Girls At Parties, the latter of which also stars Fanning. She'll also be seen in The Neon Demon and A Storm In The Stars. Dunst, who was part of the most recent season of Fargo, has Jeff Nichols' Midnight Special due on April 8.