“The Housekeeper,” the evocative romance that fictionalises the inspiration behind Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca” and was first announced by Variety in 2024, is gearing up to start production.
BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown,” “One Life”), BAFTA and Golden Globe nominee Caitríona Balfe (“Belfast,” “Ford v Ferrari”), and fast-rising star Emma Laird (“The Brutalist,” “28 Years Later”) have joined show alongside the already announced two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkin (“The Father,” “The Silence of the Lambs”). Previously attached stars Uma Thurman and Phoebe Dynevor are no longer appearing.
Directed by multi-award-winning filmmaker Sir Richard Eyre (“The Children Act,” “Notes on a Scandal,” “Iris”) and written by acclaimed bestselling author Dame Rose Tremain, “The Housekeeper” is based on her own short story and forthcoming novel scheduled to be published by Penguin Random House UK and Harper Collins US in the fall of 2026.
Set against the wild, brooding landscape of Cornwall, the story centers on Danni (Balfe), the housekeeper at Manderville Hall, a grand historic house owned by the wealthy and widowed Lord Grenville-Whithers (Hopkins). When the young writer Daphne du Maurier (Laird) arrives, Danni is drawn into a clandestine and intoxicating affair. For one, it is an all-consuming love; for the other, an awakening of long-suppressed desires. Their fragile secret threatens to unravel under the watchful gaze of Adelaide (Bonham Carter), Lord Grenville-Whithers’ calculating niece.
“Rose Tremain has written a brilliant screenplay which is dark and surprising and mysterious, and we look forward to making a film which lives up to its promise,” said Eyre.
Producers on the film are Julia Taylor-Stanley for Artemis Films, Kevin Loader for Embankment, and Herbert L. Kloiber for Night Train Media. Night Train Media has boarded the project as producer and principal financier. The Munich and London-based company will oversee global exploitation working with Embankment Films, who handle global sales. Additional finance was provided by Head Gear Films, M2 Mediapost, FireFrame Studios and Screen Cornwall. Executive producers are Phil Hunt and Compton Ross for Head Gear Films, and James Copp for Night Train Media.
“Assembling a cast of such calibre speaks to the power of Rose’s storytelling, and to Richard’s standing amongst the great British directors,” said Taylor-Stanley. “We are excited to be working with our talent on bringing this compelling story to the screen.”
Added Kloiber: “The Housekeeper promises audiences an intoxicating blend of passion, elegance, and emotional truth, brought to life through Rose Tremain’s exquisite writing and Richard Eyre’s masterful direction.”