Keira Knightley to Star in 'The Woman In Cabin 10'

The adaptation of Ruth Ware's best-selling 2016 novel, The Woman in Cabin 10, is finally in production. Netflix first announced it was greenlighting the feature film in May 2024, and its newest A-list British star, Keira Knightley, who was already set to star in the upcoming Black Doves series, was attached to the project. With filming getting underway four months later in September, the rest of the cast has been revealed, along with the official synopsis.

The feature film has spent nearly a decade in development hell since Paramount Films (at the time called CBS Films) originally optioned it in 2017. The project languished as CBS and Viacom recombined into Paramount, Paramount+ was launched, and the entire company began to collapse. At some point, between the point when owner Shari Redstone finally admitted she had to sell in 2023 and the company being acquired in July 2024, the adaptation was offloaded to Netflix.

A British "psychological thriller" author, Ware's The Woman in Cabin 10 was her second stand-alone crime novel after her debut bestseller, In a Dark, Dark Wood. Thus far, Ware has written six crime thrillers, each a single closed-ended story, exploring different tropes of the genre as she goes. Depending on how The Woman in Cabin 10 does, it would not be a surprise to see the streaming service pick up the rest of her books for future feature film projects.

Here's the series synopsis:

While on a luxury cruise for a travel assignment, a journalist witnesses a passenger tossed overboard late one night, only to be told that she must have dreamed it, as all passengers are accounted for. Despite not being believed by anyone onboard, she continues to look for answers, putting her own life in danger.

Knightley will be joined by Guy Pearce (A Spy Among Friends), Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), David Ajala (Star Trek: Discovery), Pippa Bennett-Warner (Moonflower Murders), Art Malik (Disclaimer), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (The War Between The Land & Sea), Daniel Ings (The English Game), Kaya Scodelario (The Gentlemen), David Morrissey (Sherwood), Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones), John Macmillan (The Burning Girls), Lisa Loven Kongsli (The Letter for the King), Gitte Witt (The Spy), Christopher Rygh (Vikings: Valhalla), and big screen newcomer Ayọ̀ Owóyẹmi-Peters.

Director Simon Stone (The Dig) is helming the feature film from a script he wrote with writers Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse. Executive producers include Ilda Diffley for SISTER and Richard Hewitt.

The Woman in Cabin 10 is expected to be released in late 2025 or early 2026. Netflix has not indicated whether the film will be released theatrically or go straight to streaming.