With the recent Death Comes to Pemberley, BBC and PBS viewers were reacquainted with Jane Austen…sort of. Now, going 180 degrees in the opposite direction, comes the latest ‘revisit’ with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies starring Downton Abbey‘s Lily James, Doctor Who‘s Matt Smith and Game of Thrones‘ Lena Headey. Yes, James has been a bit preoccupied with finding a husband in 1920s society then Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, but she now turns her attention to battling zombies, complete with period costume bonnets, swords and knives as shown from this first glimpse pic exclusive from Entertainment Weekly.
 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies sees Jane Austen’s Bennet sisters transformed into zombie-fighting martial artists. The film, which is based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestseller, sees Austen’s match-making tale set in an alternative regency era where the English countryside is plagued by the undead. Before Jane Austen traditionalists turn up their collective noses at the new take on the Bennet sisters, James told Entertainment Weekly that she doesn’t see much of a difference in Elizabeth Bennet. “Even in the original story, Elizabeth’s a fighter and beyond her contemporaries in her ambitions and her ideas of women. She’s a badass warrior. She’s a ninja“, said James. Ok, that may be more than just a bit of a stretch thought, but it definitely will be fun, even though it looks like it is nothing more than a way to capitalize on the current zombie apocalypse phase with a Jane Austen twist. Hey, I can’t make this stuff up. Filming began in September with a 2015 premiere date on the books. Enjoy?