Pride And Prejudice And Zombies, the adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s New York Times bestseller, seems to have had an impossible time of getting off the ground, with so many different leading ladies and directors thought to be joining the project, only to later decide against it.
The latest in the list of leading ladies to have been offered the part was Blake Lively, best known for her role in Ben Affleck’s The Town, Green Lantern, and of course Gossip girl. But news now comes from Latino Review that she too has ultimately decided to pass on the part of Elizabeth Bennett, zombie-fighter.
Previous names that have been attached to the leading role include Emma Stone, Natalie Portman, and Scarlett Johansson, all terrific actresses, just like Lively. But despite the novel’s success, the film is having a really hard time moving forward. It’s been in the works for more than two years, but still nothing seems concrete with the project.
As such, it’s possible that this might be one project that lingers in development hell and ultimately never gets made. But we shall see. Craig Gillespie, now signed on to direct the film, found only moderate success at the box office with his remake of Fright Night this year, despite getting good reviews, so it will be interesting to see whether he’ll stick with this project and push hard to find another leading actress, or decide to move on and find something more likely to get ahead. More news as we get it.
