Anna Kendrick has a confession to make: she's absolutely giddy about stepping behind the camera. The Oscar-nominated actress is officially directing The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, the long-awaited adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid's bestselling novel, and she's not being subtle about her excitement.
The Pitch Perfect and Up in the Air star described herself as "over the moon" about landing the gig, and honestly, can you blame her? The book has been a cultural juggernaut since it hit shelves, spending ages on bestseller lists and turning into one of those novels that seemingly every friend group has passed around with strict instructions to read immediately. Now it's headed to the big screen, and Kendrick is the one calling the shots.
What the Story Actually Is
For the uninitiated, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows a reclusive Hollywood legend who finally decides to tell the truth about her life. Evelyn Hugo picks Monique Grant, a reporter nobody has ever heard of, to write her story. Not a famous journalist. Not a seasoned biographer. Just Monique.
What follows is a sprawling account of Evelyn's days in the Golden Age of Hollywood, her climb to stardom, and the seven marriages that defined - and sometimes complicated - her journey. Along the way, she spills some genuinely shocking secrets, and the book keeps readers guessing about her real motivations right up until the end. The central mystery lingers throughout: why Monique? Of all the writers in the world, why her?
It's juicy, emotional, and packed with Old Hollywood glamour, which explains why fans have been clamoring for an adaptation practically since the book came out. The film is classified as a romance and drama, so expect plenty of sweeping emotions alongside the behind-the-scenes intrigue.
Kendrick's Big Career Pivot
This marks a major creative leap for Kendrick, who built her career in front of the camera with scene-stealing turns in everything from Twilight to A Simple Favor. Directing a prestige literary adaptation is a whole different beast, especially one with a fanbase this passionate. Readers of the novel have very specific mental images of Evelyn's world, and they will absolutely notice if the gowns, the parties, or the tension don't land right.
But Kendrick has never been the type to shy away from a challenge. She's shown range as a performer across comedy and drama, and she's spent years observing directors at work on a wide variety of sets. Sometimes that behind-the-scenes education is the best film school there is.
Why This Book Is Such a Hot Property
There's a reason Hollywood circled this novel for years. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo blends romance, ambition, and identity into a story that feels both timeless and painfully modern. Evelyn's seven marriages aren't just plot devices - they're chapters in a larger, more complicated truth about who she really was and who she loved.
That layered storytelling is catnip for filmmakers, but it's also notoriously tricky to translate. A novel that unfolds across decades, with a framing device involving Monique and a timeline hopping through the mid-20th century, demands careful choices about structure and pacing. Kendrick will have to decide what to keep, what to cut, and how to make Evelyn's voice ring as vividly on screen as it does on the page.
What We Don't Know Yet
Plenty, as it turns out. The cast hasn't been announced, which means the internet is currently in its favorite phase: rampant speculation. Who plays Evelyn? Who plays Monique? Who fills out the seven husbands? Nobody outside the production knows, and that mystery is half the fun.
There's also no release date yet, and no word on runtime. TMDb currently lists the film with a 0/10 rating, which simply reflects that nothing has been released - not a verdict from critics. For now, the project sits in that tantalizing pre-production limbo where everything is possible and nothing is confirmed.
What we do know is that Kendrick is thrilled, the source material is beloved, and the bar is set sky-high. If she sticks the landing, this could be the movie that defines a new chapter of her career - and finally gives readers the Evelyn Hugo they've been picturing for years. Count us in.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter