Little Women (2019 film)

Little Women is an upcoming American coming-of-age period drama film written and directed by Greta Gerwig. It is the eighth feature film adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. The film stars Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, James Norton, Louis Garrel, Bob Odenkirk, Chris Cooper and Abby Quinn. It is set to be released in the United States on December 25, 2019, by Columbia Pictures.

Premise
Little Women explores the lives of sisters in 1860s Massachusetts. According to one of its producers, the new adaptation focuses more on the March sisters' young adult lives, particularly after Meg, Jo, and Amy leave their family home. The film jumps back and forth in time and focuses more on themes rather than narrative.

Cast

 * Meryl Streep as Aunt March
 * Saoirse Ronan as Jo March
 * Timothée Chalamet as Theodore "Laurie" Laurence
 * Florence Pugh as Amy March
 * Eliza Scanlen as Beth March
 * James Norton as John Brooke
 * Laura Dern as Marmee March
 * Emma Watson as Meg March
 * Louis Garrel as Friedrich Bhaer
 * Bob Odenkirk
 * Chris Cooper
 * Abby Quinn as Annie

Development
A new film adaptation of Little Women was announced by Sony Pictures in October 2013. In March 2015, Amy Pascal began developing the new adaptation, with Sarah Polley hired to write the script and potentially direct.

In August 2016, Greta Gerwig was hired to re-write the draft initially written by Polley. In June 2018, Gerwig, coming off of an awards season success with Lady Bird, was brought on as director.

Casting
In June 2018, it was announced that Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet and Florence Pugh had been cast in the film. In July 2018, Eliza Scanlen joined the cast. In August 2018, James Norton and Laura Dern joined the cast. Then in the same month, Emma Watson was cast to replace Stone who dropped out due to her commitment to the press tour for The Favourite. In September 2018, Louis Garrel, Bob Odenkirk and Chris Cooper joined the cast. In October 2018, New Regency Pictures was announced as an additional financier on the film, and Abby Quinn joined the cast.

Filming
Principal photography on the film began on October 5, 2018, in Boston, Massachusetts. Additional filming locations included Harvard and Concord, Massachusetts. The Arnold Arboretum was used as a location to shoot a scene set in a 19th-century Paris park. Filming wrapped the same year on December 15.

Music
On April 8, 2019, it was announced that Alexandre Desplat had been hired to compose the film's score.

Release
The film is set to be released in the United States on December 25, 2019, by Columbia Pictures.