It's the novel that grabbed the book world by storm.

A completely unknown, young journalist is hand-picked to write a tell-all biography for the fiercely private Evelyn Hugo, an Old Hollywood star who suddenly disappeared from the public eye decades ago.

There's scandal, forbidden romance, betrayal; what more could you want? It's safe to say, Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo truly has it all.

After it went viral on BookTok in 2022, it was really no surprise when Netflix announced later that year it had acquired the rights to adapt the bestseller for the big screen.

Four years on from the announcement, the film has landed a new director — and we're hoping this one sticks.

The process to get here hasn't exactly been smooth sailing… we're talking delays and a revolving door of creatives, so this is news to celebrate.

Here's everything we know about the project so far.

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The TV show that never was.

Before Netflix took the helm, the project was briefly in development in 2019 as a series on Freeform, with The L Word's Ilene Chaiken and Jennifer Beals executive producing.

A TV show was what many die-hard fans were practically begging for, with hopes of an episode dedicated to each of the seven husbands.

But that dream died in 2022 when Netflix swooped in and announced it was adapting it for film instead.

Immediately, the internet was divided. How do you cram decades of Old Hollywood lore, seven marriages and a massive plot-twist into a two-hour runtime without ruining it?

We're not exactly sure, but it seems only time will tell.

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A revolving door of directors.

Netflix's first attempt to get the cameras rolling started with director Leslye Headline (Russian Doll). However, she reportedly stepped down due to scheduling conflicts and creative development changes.

"It's one of those things where you know it's going to be a huge success," she told Variety. "I thought, 'Damn it. It's not going to work out with me involved in it, but it is going to be wildly successful'.

Next up was Maggie Betts (The Burial), who was tapped in to replace Headline in early 2025. But she, too, left the project, reportedly due to development changes as the adaptation continued to evolve.

And it's not just the directors changing.

Deadline reports that Little Fires Everywhere scribe Liz Tigelaar wrote the movie's first draft, but Netflix has just brought in Francesca Sloane (Mr & Mrs Smith) to handle revisions.

Enter: Anna Kendrick.

Now, we finally have what we hope will be our final director: Anna Kendrick.

It follows the success of her directorial debut with Netflix, Woman of the Hour — a true-crime drama which scored a 91 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and became a hit for the streaming service.

Kendrick famously donated her entire salary from the debut to abuse survivor organisations, admitting she felt "gross" profiting off a true-crime story.

But while Kendrick's proven she's a talent behind the camera, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a completely different beast. We'll be tuning in to see if she can pull off the glamour.

The million-dollar question.

With a director locked in, the production is officially ramping up, which means we are close (at least we hope) to casting news.

We don't have anything to go off just yet, but the Internet sure has plenty of ideas.

For the iconic role of Celia St James, Jessica Chastain is the most popular choice for her middle-aged years, while Anya Taylor-Joy and Bridgerton's Hannah Dodd have frequently been pitched as a younger Celia.

As for Evelyn Hugo herself? Rita Moreno is the fan favourite to play the elderly version of the star, with Sofia Vergara and Ana de Armas heavily tipped by fans to play her younger years.

And let's not forget Monique Grant, the journalist anchoring the whole story. Nathalie Emmanuel, Jurnee Smollett and Tessa Thompson are among the recurring fan casts.

A release date has not yet been set for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but with Kendrick finally at the helm, we're hoping more updates will follow.

You already know we're eagerly waiting for the next one.

Feature image: Getty.