"Anna Karenina" is considered by many to be the greatest novel of all time. But how is it going to do as a film?
Well, we're about to find out, because Focus Features officially announced today that Keira Knightley will headline a new version of the film that will reunite the star with her "Pride & Prejudice" and "Atonement" director, Joe Wright.
Get ready to party like it's 1879.
This is hardly the first adaptation of "Anna Karenina," of course; at least a dozen previous versions of Russian master Leo Tolstoy's classic have made it to the big screen, with everyone from Greta Garbo to Sean Bean getting in on the action.
But it's safe to say that few previous adaptations featured quite the same overall star power as this new one; besides Knightley and Wright, "Anna Karenina" will also boast fellow Oscar nominees Jude Law, Emily Watson and Saoirse Ronan as well as "Kick-Ass" star Aaron Johnson. Plus, with Wright bringing back the crew that helped make "Pride & Prejudice" and "Atonement" so awesome, pretty much everyone behind the scenes has an Oscar in their closet as well.
Rumors of this project have been swirling around for awhile now (seriously, it's been, like, a year), but thanks to the press release (which you can read in its entirety over at The Wrap), it's now official: Next year, Knightley is headed back to the 19th century.
So what's the Russian word for "Oscar," anyway?
Need more casting action? Check out today's NextMovie Daily for the latest scoop.
