New Sense and Sensibility Unites Rising Talent for a Modern Take on Austen — Can It Offer Something New?

Another Austen adaptation is on the horizon — but this time, it comes with a notably fresh perspective. Sense and Sensibility is getting a new feature-length treatment from Focus Features and Working Title Films, with Blue Jean filmmaker Georgia Oakley set to direct and novelist Diana Reid penning the screenplay. At the heart of it all is Twisters star Daisy Edgar-Jones, cast as the composed and quietly resolute Elinor Dashwood.

The project reunites two studios with a proven track record of bringing Austen to screen — their collaborations on Pride & Prejudice (2005) and Emma (2020) still stand as fan favourites. But this version of Sense and Sensibility signals a more intimate, character-driven approach, shaped by a creative team led by women across writing, direction, and performance. Could this be the version that leans in more sharply to the social and emotional intelligence Austen laced between the lines?

The story remains familiar: two sisters navigating love, loss and class in a world not built for them. Yet each generation finds its own Dashwoods — and each adaptation its own balance between period authenticity and modern resonance. With Edgar-Jones at the centre, it’s easy to imagine an Elinor that speaks just as clearly to 21st-century restraint as to 19th-century decorum.

Production details remain under wraps for now, but the question lingers: in a post-Bridgerton, post-Emma era, what else can Austen say to us — and how boldly should she say it?