Uma Thurman, Anthony Hopkins and Phoebe Dynevor are set to star in director Richard Eyre’s upcoming film The Housekeeper.

The Housekeeper is an “evocative romance” which fictionalises the events behind the writing of Daphne Du Maurier’s classic gothic novel Rebecca.

Set in Cornwall, at the “rugged Atlantic foot of England”, the story follows Danni (Thurman), the housekeeper at Manderville Hall, a grand house owned by wealthy widower Lord DeWithers (Hopkins). When the young and charming novelist Daphne Du Maurier (Dynevor) comes to visit, she and Danni soon find themselves embroiled in a passionate, all-consuming love affair.

Eyre will direct from a script penned by the bestselling author Rose Tremain, based on her own short story and forthcoming novel.

“Rose Tremain’s story grapples with love, fear, fiction, desire, ambition, death and legacy – perhaps epic, whilst providing us with the delicacy of most complex, nuanced characters and unexpected shifts in audience sympathy,” Eyre said in a statement. “The cast and I hold in our palm a story as rich and turbulent as the landscape that it inhabits, with Manderville Hall holding secrets and emotional intrigue within its historic walls.”

Julia Taylor-Stanley and Kevin Loader are also working on the film as producers. “Kevin and I are thrilled to be working with Richard and our wonderful cast to bring Rose’s evocative story to its global audience at the end of 2025,” said Taylor-Stanley.