In spite of just getting the miniseries treatment, it was last in 1994 that the Louisa May Alcott novel was remade with big names attached. Now, it’s headed back to the big screen. Fresh off the Oscar nomination and box office success that was Lady Bird, actress-director Gerwig is taking on another female coming-of-age tale. The book was published in 1868, and it’s remained a classic.
Meryl Streep, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, and Saoirse Ronan are all speculated to be taking lead roles, though it’s not yet certain which roles. It’s very likely that Streep will play matriarch Marmee March, and it would be the second project for Ronan and Chalamet where they work together under Greta Gerwig’s direction (Lady Bird being the first.)
Sources told Variety that the studio is expected to test a selection of actresses opposite Stone for the role of Beth before July 4th. For a quick Little Women plot refresher, the novel follows the stories of the four March sisters — Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy — and their mother Marmee live in Massachusetts. The family faces their first Christmas without their father, who is a pastor involved in the Civil War. The much-loved 1994 adaptation stars Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, Clare Danes, Kirsten Dunst, and Susan Sarandon.
Needless to say, people took to Twitter to express their excitement:
I was trying to figure out how exciting LeBron coming to the Lakers must be for LA sports fans and I imagine it must be something like how I felt when I heard Greta Gerwig was adapting Little Women?
— Chris Schleicher (@cschleichsrun) July 2, 2018
PUMP THIS INTO MY VEINShttps://t.co/bjRJ2PQ8R4
— Anne Helen Petersen (@annehelen) June 29, 2018
calling timothée and saoirse's agents about little women like pic.twitter.com/6w9MiDZQBe
— emma lord (@dilemmalord) June 29, 2018
ok ladies choose your little women fighter pic.twitter.com/dWfWESwF61
— hunter harris (@hunteryharris) June 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/lindseyromain/status/1012759468600385537