Dakota Johnson has been cast in a Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, Persuasion.
Johnson will play the story’s heroine, Anne Elliot, who regrets being persuaded to reject the man she loved, but experiences hope of a second chance at love after the two are brought together years later.
Johnson has a growing and increasingly varied filmography, from Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria and A Bigger Splash, to the Fifty Shades franchise. This latest role takes Johnson’s career in yet another direction as she will venture into the world of period drama.
Persuasion will be directed by Carrie Cracknell, marking her movie debut. Cracknell has had a successful career in theatre, including a Broadway production of Sea Wall/A Life in which she directed Jake Gyllenhaal.
While it may seem risky to have a new film director at the helm of a beloved Austen story, this proved successful for Autumn de Wilde’s first directorial feature Emma. Her film turned out to be a fresh, beautiful retelling of the novel and was nominated for two Academy Awards this year.
Austen fans have yet another adaptation of Persuasion to look forward to in the near future, which will star Sarah Snook (Succession) and Joel Fry (Game of Thrones) and will be directed by Mahalia Belo. With details about either adaptation being limited at this point, it will be interesting to see whether both projects will follow similar paths or put a twist on the classic story.
While there is no official release day yet, filming on Cracknell’s version is reported to begin in May.
Words by Lucy Ingram
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