Coming attractions

The telltale compression of the calendar pages confirms that we are hastening toward the end of this landmark Austen 250 year. But don’t despair: With several marquee adaptations moving swiftly through the pipeline, it’s clear that 2026 will keep the flame alive.

The latest news comes courtesy of an interview with Fiona Shaw, the British actor who is starring in not one but two of the in-process Austens: The Netflix mini-series of Pride and Prejudice, in which she plays Lady Catherine, and the feature-film version of Sense and Sensibility, in which she plays Mrs. Jennings.*

According to Shaw, shooting has just concluded on the new S&S, which stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor and Catriona Balfe as Mrs. Dashwood. (Unless they’ve dressed Balfe way down from her Outlander days, I predict that this is going to be an S&S that makes you wonder why Colonel Brandon is fixated on a teenage girl when there’s a gorgeous adult woman standing right in front of him.)

“We filmed in these beautiful houses around Britain, including in Dorset, Knebworth and Devonshire,” Shaw reported. “The scale was thrilling. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a carriage with four horses.”

She offered no hints about the likely release date of either of her Austen projects, but P&P was also filming on location just a couple of months ago, so it seems likely that we’ll see both films next year--along with the BBC’s screen version of The Other Bennet Sister, the Mary Bennet fanfic that was also shooting this summer. It’s lucky the UK has a lot of those big houses and charming villages, or all these film crews would have spent their days stumbling over each other.

But perhaps you can’t wait until next year for your Austen fix. Perhaps you are the kind of person who routinely gorges on Doritos before going out for a fancy dinner. If so, a low-budget film that seems likely to be the Austen equivalent of a Dorito became available earlier this month on video on demand.

I speak of Sense and Sensibility: A Modern Retelling, made by a Utah-based production team whose slender roster of previous credits seems heavier on fantasy and horror than on contemporary romcoms. Honesty compels me to admit that the preview available on IMDB is not promising: The budget production values and sub-Hallmark acting suggest this one will have more in common with Modern Persuasion (meh) and Townhouse Confidential (*shudder*)—not to mention that other Utah-based production, Scents and Sensibility (ugh)--than with the sublime Clueless.

Nevertheless, you know I will be watching, because I’m one of those people who can’t wait for my Austen fix. It’s a long time until 2026.

* Shaw also played Mrs. Croft in the 1995 film of Persuasion, which means that she will soon join the select club of actors who have appeared in three different Austen screen adaptations. Scroll down to the comments on this old post of mine to learn who the other two are.