For a while, Dakota Johnson was best known for her role as Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, but since then the actor has long been cementing herself as one of Hollywood’s coolest characters.
First, it was her understated style, which prompted Gucci to come knocking and Johnson to top every best-dressed list. Then there was the viral handwashing video posted by Olivia Wilde, which showed Johnson’s partner (fiancé?), Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, providing his arms for the skit.
Then there was the Architectural Digest house tour, in which Johnson showed off her ridiculously good sense of style (and trolled us all about her love of limes). And last but certainly not least, there was the time she called out Ellen DeGeneres, single-handedly starting the talk show host’s downfall with a succinct, “That’s not the truth, Ellen.”
At the same time, Johnson has been proving herself in front of the camera, starring in the likes of The Peanut Butter Falcon and Bad Times at the El Royale. But this latest announcement is the most exciting yet.
Johnson is set to star in the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, Persuasion, taking on the lead role for the project.
Described as a “modern, witty approach” to a beloved story, Persuasion tells the story of Anne Elliot, an unconforming woman living with her snobby family on the brink of bankruptcy. Unmarried and 27 years old, Anne reconnects with a man she was once persuaded to reject and faces a second chance at love.
Production begins in May with Carrie Cracknell, known for directing Jake Gyllenhaal in Sea Wall/ A Life on Broadway, taking the project on as her feature directorial debut.
Persuasion was the last novel written by Austen, the author of literary classics like Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma, prior to her death in 1817. Persuasion has already been adapted numerous times, including the 2007 TV movie starring Sally Hawkins, and a separate production, starring Succession actor Sarah Snook, is also currently in the works.
