A new film version of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel, Rebecca, is in the works, according to Variety. The classic mystery, which was made famous on the big screen by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940, will be penned by Eastern Promises writer Steven Knight for Dreamworks and Working Title.

Rebecca sees a young woman attempt to fill the shoes of the titular deceased wife of rich aristocrat, Maxim de Winter, to the chagrin of his sinister housekeeper, Mrs Danvers. Hitchcock's version, which opened the first Berlin film festival in 1951, starred Sir Laurence Olivier as de Winter and Judith Anderson as Mrs Danvers. Joan Fontaine was Hitchcock's choice for the innocent, vulnerable victim.

Du Maurier's tale has had many stage and TV adaptations and has inspired two Bollywood movies – 1964's Kohraa and Anamika, directed by Anant Mahadevan and released in 2008.