Anna Kendrick’s Evelyn Hugo Movie Could Be Netflix’s Next Big Hit

Netflix knows Anna Kendrick’s potential and therefore gained the rights to her next thrilling project in 2022. Anna Kendrick’s Evelyn Hugo movie has been making a buzz for the past few years, but has struggled to get a concrete announcement. 

According to Variety, Anna Kendrick (Another Simple Favor) is hired to direct Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling 2017 novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Reid will serve as the executive producer, as this would be her second novel coming to Hollywood for adaptation, after Amazon’s 2023 limited series Daisy Jones and the Six. 

Reid opened up about the project by saying,

“Everyone is working incredibly hard to get this movie made, and everyone knows that there is a lot of pressure to get it exactly right. We’re all hard at work. We’re taking it very seriously, and I give Netflix so much credit because they have such an immense respect for the readership of that book.” [Source]

Two other filmmakers, Maggiore Betts and Leslye Headland, were also associated with the project, but they left for unknown reasons. Liz Tigelaar, whose credits include Tiny Beautiful Things (2023) and Little Fires Everywhere (2020), wrote the first draft of the script.  

No casting details have been officially confirmed. Who needs to lead the two important roles needs careful thought, as this would impact the entire basis of the film. Female actors have not been shortlisted yet, but fans have been putting forward their suggestions, and they want to see Jessica Chastain as Evelyn Hugo. 

Plot details of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The story follows a fictional old Hollywood star who remembers her life with an unknown, struggling journalist. Her seven lives serve as a memoir for her entire story of queer love, tragedy, and ambition. 

The story’s core is the hiring of Monique, the journalist, who is hired by the Hollywood star, Evelyn, at the age of 79 to write her biography. The journalist is confused as to why such a big star would hire for such a significant task, but she considers it a career-defining opportunity. Her accounts of rise and fall and the truth behind her publicized romances and scandals, as is common in an artist’s life, are all revealed throughout her seven high-profile marriages. 

Is Anna Kendrick’s Evelyn Hugo movie the perfect fit for a Netflix adaptation? 

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Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman of the Hour (2023), was a massive Netflix success as the critically acclaimed crime thriller secured the #1 spot in the US and the #2 spot in the global top 10 list. It gained an impressive Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 91%.

She has proved herself as a promising new voice in the world of direction, which makes her resume strong for handling tense and character-driven storytelling. The emotionally complex stories, like LGBTQ romance in Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, demand a balance of spectacle with intimacy, something Kendrick has already demonstrated.

On the other hand, Netflix has a strong track record of turning popular books and fan-favorite stories into global streaming hits like Bridgerton (2020-), The Queen’s Gambit (2020-), You (2018-), Shadow and Bone (2021), and many more. This is a perfect way to appeal to the BookTok audience, and with Kendrick involved in the project, it is a win-win situation. 

With Kendrick’s previous success on Netflix, this time she would be confident in handling a larger and much more ambitious adaptation. People have high expectations from Netflix projects, and the intense fan scrutiny, especially from those who have read the book, implies a different pressure to faithfully translate the novel’s emotional depth and iconic characterization to the big screen.