I’m not sure if this is news anyone is really going to care about unless you are a massive fan of Year of the Dog, but Mike White will be making his sophomore feature directing effort on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, stepping into the shoes vacated by David O. Russell as he heads off to direct Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Why White was chosen over the likes of other contenders said to have been hot to direct is beyond me, unless they were looking to save money on the director and put more into the cast.
Other candidates included Neil Marshall (The Descent), Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) and Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs). If you were to play a game of “one of these things is not like the other,” Mike White certainly sticks out among that list, but perhaps that’s exactly what the folks at Lionsgate were looking for.
As for the film’s story, it’s based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s revisionist novel in which Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters become zombie slayers after being taught how to fight like Japanese ninjas by Mr. Darcy. It’s being described as a Victorian-era Zombieland.
As of right now the role of Elizabeth Bennet is yet to be filled although before Russell left Scarlett Johansson was his first pick with Bradley Cooper topping the list to play Mr. Darcy. Natalie Portman was once attached to the role, but she now only remains as one of the film’s producers.
