Anna Kendrick is bringing one of BookTok’s most cherished LGBTQ stories to the screen with Netflix’s adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
The girls, the gays, the book clubs, and practically all of BookTok can finally start screaming.
According to Deadline, Anna Kendrick is set to direct Netflix’s adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, one of the most beloved LGBTQ novels of the last decade. The announcement instantly sent fans into a frenzy, and honestly, it is not hard to see why.
This is not just another bestselling novel getting the Hollywood treatment. For many readers, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo became a cultural event. It is the kind of book that gets recommended by friends with the warning, “Trust me, just keep reading,” before proceeding to emotionally devastate everyone who picks it up.
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Written by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the author behind Daisy Jones & The Six, the novel became a New York Times bestseller and built a devoted following among LGBTQ readers.
On the surface, the premise seems straightforward. Aging Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo finally decides to tell the truth about her legendary life and seven marriages during a final interview with a young journalist.
Each section of the novel is named after one of Evelyn’s husbands, chronicling the relationships that helped shape her career and public image.
But longtime fans know the title only tells part of the story.
Beneath the glamour, scandals, and Old Hollywood intrigue is a sweeping sapphic love story between Evelyn Hugo and fellow actress Celia St. James. Their relationship unfolds against a backdrop of fame, secrecy, sacrifice, and impossible choices.
It is a story about what it means to love someone when the world does not want that love to exist publicly.
More Than a Romance
Part of what has made Evelyn Hugo resonate so deeply is that it explores multiple queer experiences during Hollywood’s golden age and beyond.
One of the novel’s most beloved characters is Harry Cameron, Evelyn’s fifth husband and closest friend. Their marriage functions as a lavender marriage, with both serving as each other’s beards while protecting the people they truly love.
Harry eventually builds a life with his longtime male partner, creating another emotional layer within the story.
Together, Evelyn, Celia, Harry, and the people around them navigate a world where career, family, public image, and survival often came at the expense of authenticity.
The result is a novel that feels both glamorous and heartbreaking.
Readers come for the Hollywood drama. They stay for the love story.
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Why Kendrick Makes Sense
At first glance, Anna Kendrick may not be the first name that comes to mind when people imagine the director of a sweeping Old Hollywood LGBTQ drama.
Then again, neither was she when she stepped behind the camera for Woman of the Hour.
Her directorial debut, Woman of the Hour, was really good! This parking lot scene genuinely creeped me out when I watched it. It really showcases her strengths as a director, especially for a first-time filmmaker, which makes it all the more impressive. https://t.co/7P8jiCfMly pic.twitter.com/E5Hv3hruao
— Edward Burger (not Berger) ❤️🌈 (@edwardbrgr) June 1, 2026
The 2023 Netflix film marked Kendrick’s directorial debut, and critics praised both her performance and her work behind the camera. The thriller generated significant buzz following its Toronto International Film Festival premiere, with Netflix reportedly paying eight figures to acquire the project.
In other words, Kendrick has already proven she can successfully make the leap from actor to director.
Now she is taking on a project with an extremely passionate fanbase and some very high expectations.
EVELYN HUGO ADAPTATION FINALLY IN PROCESS ?!?! HAPPY PRIDE MONTH EVERYONE pic.twitter.com/Msz2vRl3Gn
— 💌 (@strangesapphics) June 1, 2026
Entering Her Next Era
Kendrick has been keeping busy in front of the camera as well. Following Another Simple Favor, she is set to appear in the upcoming A24 project Misty Green from director Chris Rock, as well as Babies, both currently in post-production.
Still, directing The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo may be her most closely watched project yet.
The novel has spent years topping fan casting wish lists and generating endless online discussions about who should play Evelyn, Celia, Harry, and the rest of the iconic cast.
Now, after years of anticipation, the adaptation finally feels real.
And if Kendrick can successfully capture the heartbreak, longing, glamour, and impossible choices that made readers fall in love with Evelyn Hugo in the first place, Netflix may have its next major LGBTQ cultural phenomenon on its hands.
The only remaining question is the one fans have been asking for years:
Who gets to play Evelyn Hugo and Celia St. James?