EXCLUSIVE: The exciting trio of Daisy Ridley (Star Wars), Kristin Scott Thomas (Darkest Hour) and Nina Hoss (Phoenix) have been set to star in Jane Anderson’s (The Wife) adaptation of Jessica Shattuck’s 2017 New York Times bestseller Women In The Castle, about three widows of conspirators involved in an assassination attempt on Hitler.

The story of the three German women, set during and after World War II, explores how each deals with the fallout of her personal life and the devastation around her differently. Shattuck’s main characters are fictional but the story draws on familial – she is half-German – and historical accounts from the period.

Anderson, who will adapt and direct, previously adapted Meg Wolitzer’s 2017 drama The Wife, the box office breakout which scored Oscar and BAFTA nominations and a Golden Globe win for Glenn Close. The U.S. screenwriter also won two Emmys for her HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge, starring Frances McDormand, and was DGA-nominated as writer-director of HBO’s Normal, starring Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson.

Producing are Anonymous Content’s Rosalie Swedlin (The Wife), Doreen Wilcox Little (Mapplethorpe) and Michael Scheel (Inglorious Basterds). Pic is scheduled to shoot early 2021 in Eastern Europe.

Embankment, which handled sales on The Wife, will serve as executive producers and have launched worldwide sales ahead of the virtual TIFF market.

Rosalie Swedlin said: “One of Jane’s great talents is to reveal the inner emotional lives of women and in gifting those revelations to actresses, allowing them to deliver award-winning, timelessly memorable performances. And in Kristin, Daisy and Nina we have the cast to do exactly that.”

Tim Haslam, Embankment added: “We’re thrilled to resume our partnership with Jane and Rosalie, the team behind The Wife. Jane’s precision in uncovering the deeply personal stories of Shattuck’s female characters is intensely captivating and emotionally expressive. Whilst set within a conflict of epic scale the intimacy of the storytelling is highly resonant for its audience. Our actresses will deliver powerhouse performances.”