After years of difficult development and a revolving door of directors and cast, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies has suddenly found its shuffling feet and is finally underway. Burr Steers is directing from his own draft of the screenplay, with Matt Smith, Lily James and Sam Riley already cast. Now joining that trio comes a Lannister injection from Game of Thrones. Charles Dance and Lena Headey have both signed on for some adventures with the sorry stricken.
If it's passed you by so far, Seth Grahame-Smith's novel was at the vanguard of pastiche literary zom-com mash-ups that briefly crazed in bookshops a few years ago. P&P&Z sees Elizabeth Bennet (James) searching for love and independence as a zombie plague erupts around her and American wildlife inexplicably starts appearing in the Berkshire countryside. It was followed by the likes of Sense And Sensibility And Sea Monsters, and of course, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which beat it to the screen by a couple of years, courtesy of Timur Bekmambetov.
Riley will play Mr Darcy, with Smith as hapless parson Mr Collins. While Dance and Headey's roles haven't yet been announced, we'd lay reasonable odds on them being the parents of the Bennet sisters. That would make them, obviously enough, husband and wife when their age difference makes them a believable father and daughter in Lannisport. But hey, who's counting? Trivia fans may note that they also previously co-starred in the DTV Wesley Snipes actioner The Contractor.
Jack Huston, Douglas Booth and Bella Heathcote are also in the casting mix, and Screen Gems have just secured US distribution. The film starts shooting in a couple of days.