Lena Headey & Charles Dance Join Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

As if the casting of Matt Smith and Jack Huston did not give geek culture enough of a reason to anticipate Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the surprising announcement that Screen Gems has purchased the U.S. distribution rights to the film comes back-to-back with the reveal of two new cast members to the film: Lena Headey and Charles Dance. Yes, that Headey and Dance from Game of Thrones.

The news adds the two actors, who are well known for playing chilly father-and-daughter pairing in the Lannister clan, to a cast that also includes Lily James (Cinderella) as Elizabeth Bennet, Sam Riley (Maleficent) as Mr. Darcy, Huston (Boardwalk Empire) as Mr. Wickham, Smith (Doctor Who) as Mr. Collins, and Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows) in an as yet unspecified role.

If we had to guess, Mr. Dance could only be as a far more loving and generous father than HBO subscribers are used to: the patriarchal Mr. Bennet, who dotes on Elizabeth. Yet, Headey is a more curious bit of casting. She could be a younger version of the traditionally elderly Lady Catherine de Bourg. After all, even Lady Catherine will need to be in better fighting shape to fend off a hoard of the Undead. However, a curious thought would be if Headey was cast as Mrs. Bennet. However, that would perhaps be too strange.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 bestseller that combined the romantic comedy of manners and etiquette of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice with…zombies. Called the “unfortunate” and “afflicted,” zombies are just too crude a subject for polite conversation in early 19^th century Britain where zombie-killing is an unspoken rule of life in any quality young lady’s upbringing.

The film is written and directed by Burr Steers from an earlier draft by, of all people, David O. Russell.

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