Anna Kendrick to Direct Adaptation of THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO at Netflix After Second Director Drops Out

Academy Award nominated actress Anna Kendrick is stepping back behind the camera for her second directorial effort after the 2023 film Woman of the Hour, in which she also starred.

This time around, Kendrick will helm the film adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo for Netflix. Two other filmmakers, Maggie Betts and Leslye Headland, were previously attached to the project but departed for unknown reasons.

Based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling 2017 novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows a fictional Old Hollywood star who gives a final interview to an unknown journalist. During her tell-all, the fiercely private celebrity pulls back the curtain on the true story of her infamous seven marriages and other wild tales of showbiz scandals, betrayals and woes.

Netflix picked up rights in 2022 but the project has struggled to get off the ground. No casting details have been announced. Fans of the novel were vocal about wanting Jessica Chastain to play the title role of Evelyn Hugo, an iconic redhead, but the actress shared years ago that there’s “zero possibility” of it happening.

Liz Tigelaar, whose credits include Tiny Beautiful Things and Little Fires Everywhere, wrote the first draft of the script. Francesca Sloane (Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Atlanta, Fargo, Big Little Lies Season 3) is currently working on revisions.

This is Reid’s second novel to get the Hollywood treatment after Amazon’s 2023 limited series Daisy Jones & the Six, which was loosely based on Fleetwood Mac’s recording of Rumours.

via: Variety