Richard Madden is blowing up off of Bodyguard, so it only makes sense that his co-star, Keeley Hawes, would book a cool project herself, and now she has, as Collider has learned that the BAFTA-nominated actress has signed on to join Ben Wheatley's gothic thriller Rebecca along with Sam Riley (Free Fire), Emmy winner Ann Dowd (The Handmaid's Tale) and Ben Crompton (Game of Thrones).

Armie Hammer, Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas are set to star in the Netflix film, which is being produced by Working Title. Rebecca isn't quite a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 film of the same name, but it is based on the same Daphne du Maurier novel. The story follows a newly-married young woman who visits her husband’s imposing family estate on a bleak English coast, where she finds herself battling the shadow of his dead first wife — the mysterious Rebecca — whose legacy continues to haunt the house.

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Image via HBO

Riley will play Rebecca's cousin, Jack Favell, while Dowd and Hawes have likely been cast as James' boss and Hammer's sister, respectively. Crompton's role remains a mystery, while Scott Thomas is already set to play the juicy role of Mrs. Danvers, who serves as Hammer's longtime housekeeper in the film.

Working Title principals Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan will produce alongside Nira Park (Attack the Block), and production will start next week in the UK and France. Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class) wrote the script, with current revisions by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse.

Hawes is riding high off her performance as Julia Montague in the first season of Bodyguard, which has become a sensation stateside thanks to Netflix. She previously worked with Wheatley on High-Rise, and she'll soon be seen alongside Keira Knightley, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jessie Buckley in the indie movie Misbehaviour. She's represented by Troika and LINK Entertainment.

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Image via IFC Films

Riley is an interesting actor who was excellent as the late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis in Control, but has yet to deliver on the potential he showed in that black-and-white film. You can't blame him for working with directors like Neil Jordan and Walter Salles on Byzantium and On the Road, respectively, but his career just never took off quite the way I thought it should have. High-profile films like Maleficent and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies just haven't cut it for me. That said, I'm looking forward to his turn as Pierre Curie opposite Rosamund Pike in next year's historical drama Radioactive. Riley previously worked with Wheatley on Free Fire and Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. He's repped by WME and Tavistock Wood Management.

Dowd is one of the greatest character actors working today, and she recently won an Emmy for her turn on The Handmaid's Tale. Her recent film credits include American Animals, Hereditary and Tyrel, though she'll always be Sandra from Compliance to me. She's repped by Innovative Artists and Principal Entertainment LA.

Crompton is best known for his role on Game of Thrones, in which he playing Eddison Tollett, aka Dolorous Edd, a brother of the Night's Watch. He recently appeared in Mike Leigh's drama Peterloo, and he previously worked with Wheatley on Kill List. He's repped by Sally Hope Associates.

 

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Image via Hulu
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Image via A24