Netflix's New Adaptation of 'Persuasion' Will Arrive in July

For whatever reason, Persuasion is the least frequently adapted of Jane Austen's classic novels, with only a handful of major onscreen versions, versus what can often feel like dozens of takes on stories like Pride and Prejudice or Emma. Whether this is because of its prickly older heroine or its slightly more difficult subject matter is unclear, but  on the plus side, the most recent adaptations—the 1995 feature film starring Amanda Root and the 2007 ITV series with Sally Hawkins—are both generally perfect.. but it's a a shame that such a great story is so infrequently told.

Thankfully, Netflix is here to help change all that, and will release a brand new version of the story this summer. The streamer's new film version will arrive in July, with former 50 Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson starring as Ann Elliot, Austen's eldest heroine, who begins the story as an old maid at the age of 27 after rejecting the proposal of a dirt poor naval officer seven years prior. But when a still-single Frederick Wentworth returns from war a decorated captain, Anne begins to wonder if she made the right decision in turning him down.

The very dashing-looking Cosmo Vardes (Peaky Blinders) is playing Wentworth, and if the production stills are anything to go by, he certainly looks the part of a handsome ex suddenly back to ruin your life, is all I'm saying. Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding is playing Anne's cousin William Eliot, a calculating, wealthy opportunist with plans to use her to help position himself as the rightful family patriarch.