Game of Thrones‘ Tywin and Cersei Lannister join the cast of the zombified Jane Austen film.
Two scheming Lannisters will be right at home in acerbic high society of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Game of Thrones‘s Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) have joined the cast of the film adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel, which blends the Jane Austen classic with an undead apocalypse. Headey and Dance join star Lily James, the sword-wielding heroine Elizabeth Bennet, and Sam Riley, her zombie-slaying suitor Mr Darcy. Another recent addition to the cast is Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith, who will play Mr Collins, another of Bennet’s suitors. Rounding out the cast are Bella Heathcoate, Jack Huston, Douglas Booth, and Suki Waterhouse.
In Grahame-Smith’s best selling novel, monster-slaying is as much a part of Elizabeth Bennet’s life as the society events, dances, and verbal sparring matches of Austen’s original. Bennet is much more interested in protecting England from the oncoming hordes of undead than finding herself a romantic match, but love finds a way, even when you’re knee-deep in viscera. Following the success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Grahame-Smith’s second novel, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter also made The New York Times Best Seller list, and was adapted into the 2012 film starring Benjamin Walker.
The Pride and Prejudice and Zombies adaptation has struggled to get off the ground, with director David O. Russell leaving the project in 2010 over scheduling conflicts. Natalie Portman, who had signed on to play Elizabeth Bennet, also departed for other projects after Russell left the film. After a series of other directors, the project has settled on director Burr Steers. The latest effort to bring the novel to the big screen is set for a 2015 release.
Source: Deadline
