Bet you didn’t see that one coming. Seriously though, this one is prime for adapting. There was recently an article in the hearaldsun regarding the novel and in it they drop this piece of juicy info: ‘with Hollywood studios already bidding to turn the new book into a blockbuster movie.’ So not only is PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES being made into a movie… but apparently it’s set forth a bidding war between some studios and is in store to be a ‘blockbuster.’ Some bold statements there.
Is this true? Well that’s all the info the hearldsun gives us. The updated tale comes from author Seth Grahame-Smith with PRIDE AND PREJUDICE author Jane Austen also getting a writing credit considering PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES happens to be ‘about 85%’ of Austen’s original text. Grahame-Smith just tweaked it a bit to reveal the real story… that Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters were really battling the undead under the guidance of Mr. Darcy! Here’s the full synopsis for the novel:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead.
Complete with 20 illustrations in the style of C. E. Brock (the original illustrator of Pride and Prejudice), this insanely funny expanded edition will introduce Jane Austen’s classic novel to new legions of fans.
Grahame-Smith has been quoted by The Sunday Times with saying things like: “It quickly became obvious that Jane (Austen) had laid down the blueprint for a zombie novel. Why else in the original should a regiment arrive on Lizzie Bennet’s doorstep when they should have been off fighting Napoleon? It was to protect the family from an invasion of brain-eaters, obviously…… I hated her when I was forced to read Austen in school, but when I started re-reading I realised she was a brutal, but very funny, satirist. I can only aspire to be as mean-spirited as she could be.”
So what says you? Are you excited for the book? Do you think a PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES movie would be worth checking out? Spit your opinions below, where you can also pre-order the novel! And as always, keep it here for updates as we hear them!
PRIDE & PREJUDICE star Keira Knightley.