Netflix to adapt ‘remarkable’ novel with true crime star | Films | Entertainment

The star and director of Netflix’s most chilling true crime thriller is set to helm an adaptation of a much-loved novel.

Anna Kendrick has been confirmed as director of the forthcoming film based on a chart-topping book that captured the hearts of readers worldwide and became a viral sensation on social media following its release.

The streaming giant is now bringing The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo to the screen. Published in 2017, the novel was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction in the same year.

Penned by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the book is divided into seven parts, each named after Hugo’s husbands, chronicling her life throughout her marriages and the affairs she embarks upon.

According to Deadline, the film will centre on a young journalist’s long-awaited interview with Evelyn Hugo, an ageing Hollywood starlet.

Much like the source material, she lifts the lid on her seven marriages, and as she recounts tales of Hollywood scandal, betrayal and heartbreak, she lays bare shocking revelations about her own life and those closest to her , reports the Mirror.

On the website Goodreads, one devoted fan wrote: “This is genuinely one of the most remarkable novels I have ever read. It is a favourite of the year, it will be a favourite of all time.”

Another enthused: “Wow! This book came in and knocked me off my feet.” The adaptation has been in development at Netflix since 2022, with Kendrick being the third director to be attached to the project. Its screenplay was penned by Liz Tigelaar, who served as showrunner on the miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, and has also written for programmes such as Once Upon A Time, Revenge and Nashville.

This will mark only Kendrick’s second feature as director, yet she made a considerable impact with her debut behind the camera, Woman of the Hour. The true crime thriller was likewise released through Netflix.

It proved to be a critical triumph, and was also amongst the most-viewed titles on the platform upon its launch. Having landed on the streaming service in 2024, it currently holds an impressive 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Woman of the Hour drew its inspiration from the crimes of Rodney Alcala. Kendrick also takes on a starring role in the film, playing an aspiring actress who encounters a prolific serial killer in 1970s Los Angeles after the pair are cast together on an episode of The Dating Game.

Viewers described it as “unsettling” and “one of the most chilling true crime thrillers on Netflix”. Kendrick has not commented on the upcoming project but has spoken out about her move into the director’s chair before.

Following the release of Woman of the Hour, she told Netflix: “My favourite thing about making my first movie was that every person from every department that I interacted with, I got to say to them, ‘This is the first time I’ve done this once, and it’s with you. So I’m hoping that I can ask you a million questions.’

“I led with being vulnerable about what I felt like I didn’t know and what I needed to know and learn. That really helped me avoid, I think, the worst thing you can do, which is pretending you know what’s going on when you don’t. You can plan and plan and plan, and there will be something that like you could not possibly have accounted for.”

Woman of the Hour is streaming on Netflix, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is coming soon.