New 'Sense & Sensibility' Adaptation Rounds Out Cast as Filming Begins

News that Focus Features was working on a brand new adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Sense & Sensibility dropped less than a month ago, but the project is apparently already in high gear. The first novel published by Austen (anonymously, of course), the story follows the Dashwood family, three sisters and their widowed mother, who are forced to leave the family estate in Sussex and relocate to more modest living arrangements in Devon. Though this novel features not one but two all-time great romances at its center, it is primarily a love story about the sisters at its center. And now, a new generation will get the chance to experience it on the big screen for themselves.

In this latest update, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood will be played by Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) and Esmé Creed-Miles (The Sandman), respectively. But with the start of official filming, Focus Features has announced the remainder of the film's all-star cast, including and perhaps most importantly, the men who will be playing their love interests.

The remaining cast members include:

• Caitríona Balfe is set to play Elinor and Marianne's mother, Mrs. Dashwood. The Outlander star is a five-time Golden Globe nominee and a bit on the younger side for this role, but a good enough actress that it's easy to overlook it.
• George MacKay is Edward Ferrars, Elinor's adorably dorky love interest. You might recognize him from his role in the film 1917.
• Frank Dillane will play the roguish John Willoughby, the suitor who ultimately breaks Marianne's heart. He's probably most familiar to American audiences for his role on AMC series Fear the Walking Dead, but has starred in British series ranging from Joan and The Essex Serpent to Renegade Nell.
• Herbert Nordrum will play champion piner and all around perfect man Colonel Brandon. His credits include The Worst Person in the World  and several Norwegian projects.
• Fiona Shaw, an A-lister who has been in everything from Killing Eve to Andor, is Mrs. Jennings.
• Bodhi Rae Breathnach, who can be seen in the upcoming feature film adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, is precocious youngest sibling Margaret Dashwood.

Here's the film's super basic description. 

Originally published anonymously with the byline reading “By A Lady,” Austen’s Sense and Sensibility follows sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, opposites in their emotional approach, as they navigate love, loss, and financial uncertainty amid the societal expectations of 18th-century England. Austen’s 1811 debut novel established her as a literary force and remains a cornerstone of English literature.

Georgia Oakley (Atonement) will direct from a script by bestselling Australian author Diana Reid. Jo Wallett executive produces, along with Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner for Working Title Films and India Flint of November Pictures. The new Sense & Sensibility hails from Working Title and Focus Features, the same team that made the 2005 Pride & Prejudice and the 2020 Emma.

Filming on Sense and Sensibility is currently underway in the U.K. The 1995 version of Austen's classic is currently streaming on the obscure movie service Reveel and is available for rental on the usual platforms. The 2008 miniseries is available on PBS Passports for select stations. Check your local listings and streaming program guide.