Daisy Edgar-Jones to star in Georgia Oakley's new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility

Daisy Edgar-Jones has been cast in the leading role for a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel Sense and Sensibility, which will be directed by Georgia Oakley. The film is being produced by Working Title Films and Focus Features, with production set to begin next month in the UK.

This marks Oakley's follow-up to her debut film Blue Jean, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2022 and won the People’s Choice award. The script for the new adaptation has been written by Australian author Diana Reid, known for her novels Signs of Damage, Seeing Other People, and Love & Virtue. Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, along with India Flint of November Pictures and Jo Wallett, will produce the film.

The story of Sense and Sensibility follows two sisters, Elinor (played by Edgar-Jones) and Marianne Dashwood, whose differing emotional responses to love, loss, and financial difficulties reflect the pressures placed on women in 18th-century England. The film will tackle themes of societal expectations and personal sacrifice during a time of great uncertainty.

Sense and Sensibility has been adapted for the screen multiple times, most notably in Ang Lee’s 1995 version, which starred Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson. The latter won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for her work on the script. Focus Features and Working Title have a strong track record with Jane Austen adaptations, including Joe Wright’s 2005 Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley, and 2020’s Emma, directed by Autumn de Wilde and starring Anya Taylor-Joy.

Edgar-Jones, who rose to fame with the 2020 Hulu series Normal People, has gone on to star in major films such as Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) and the upcoming Twisters (2024). The role of Marianne Dashwood has yet to be announced.