Netflix has announced the cast for its upcoming six-part limited series based on Jane Austen’s beloved 1800s novel Pride & Prejudice.

The Crown’s Emma Corrin will star as Elizabeth Bennet, with Slow Horses’ Jack Lowden portraying Mr. Darcy, and Oscar winner Olivia Colman taking on the role of Mrs. Bennet.

The adaptation will be penned by Dolly Alderton and directed by Euros Lyn, who will also serve as an executive producer alongside Emma.

Filming for the series will begin later this year in the UK.

Speaking about the new series, Dolly said in a statement: ‘Once in a generation, a group of people get to retell this wonderful story, and I feel very lucky that I get to be a part of it.’

She continued: ‘Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is the blueprint for romantic comedy – it has been a joy to delve back into its pages to find both familiar and fresh ways of bringing this beloved book to life.’

Netflix has announced the cast for its upcoming six-part limited series based on Jane Austen’s beloved 1800s novel Pride & Prejudice with Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden in lead roles 

Oscar winner Olivia Colman will be taking on the role of Mrs. Bennet in the new Netflix limited series 

Emma added: ‘Playing Elizabeth Bennet is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To be able to bring this iconic character to life, alongside Olivia and Jack, with Dolly’s phenomenal scripts, is truly the greatest honour.

‘I can’t wait for a new generation to fall in love with this story all over again.’

In November, it was reported that Emma was set to follow in Keira Knightley’s footsteps with a lead role in the fresh Netflix adaptation.

A source told The Sun: ‘Dolly is working on a Pride And Prejudice script for Netflix and thinks Emma would be perfect to play Elizabeth.

‘She is a big fan of Emma’s work, most notably in The Crown where Emma played Princess Diana.

‘Dolly is also very progressive and forward-thinking, so thinks that having a non-binary star in the role would be a brilliant move.’

Emma came out as nonbinary in 2021 and uses they/them pronouns.

At the time the actor said they felt ‘more seen’ when referred to as ‘they’ before revealing they wanted to embrace femininity and masculinity rather than chose one or the other.

Emma’s casting comes after Keira Knightly starred as the main character in the Regency-era project in 2005 alongside Matthew Macfadyen (pictured)

The film adaptation came nine years after the six-episode television drama which starred Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle in the leading roles as Darcy and Elizabeth (both pictured)

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They added they still loved all the part of them that were feminine but wanted to explore the new part of them that were non-binary and male.

Emma’s casting comes after Keira Knightly starred as the main character in the Regency-era project in 2005 alongside Matthew Macfadyen.

The film was a box office hit and grossed an impressive $121.6 million worldwide on a budget of $28 million. 

The film adaptation came nine years after the six-episode television drama which starred Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle in the leading roles as Darcy and Elizabeth 

According to The Sun, Netflix was keen to move the production of the series on following their successful adaptation of Persuasion starring Dakota Johnson as Anne Eliott.