Directed by Greta Gerwig, it’s the eighth time Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 coming-of-age novel will be adapted for the silver screen.
The book chronicles the story of the March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy – as they navigate the trials and tribulations of adolescence while traversing through an American society crumbling under the repercussions of the Civil War, a conflict their father too was part of.
Little Women will serve as the director’s highly-anticipated second project after the success of 2017’s Lady Bird starring Saoirse Ronan, which received universal critical acclaim and earned five nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Actress for Gerwig and Ronan, respectively.
Gerwig came on-board to direct after she was offered to write a preliminary draft in 2016, with her take on the plot being more focused on the sisters’ journeys rather than the source material’s prolonged depiction of the tectonic shifts that took place in Western thought due to the 19th century progressive movement.
Starring Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen as the March sisters, the film’s ensemble will also feature three-time Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep as Aunt March, Academy Award-nominees Timothee Chalamet and Laura Dern, and Bob Odenkirk of Breaking Bad fame.
Emma Watson was the last of the lead cast to join the film in August of 2018 after Emma Stone had to drop out from portraying the character of Meg March due to prior commitments with Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favorite.
Shooting for Little Women lasted from October to December of 2018, and has been in post-production ever since, with Alexandre Desplat having been hired to compose the film’s score.
Produced by Columbia Pictures in collaboration with Regency Enterprises, and distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment, Little Women is set to release on Christmas, 2019.