EXCLUSIVE: Albrecht Schuch, Douglas Hodge, Gwilym Lee, and Vinette Robinson have joined the cast of TriStar Pictures’ The Nightingale, starring Dakota and Elle Fanning, marking the first time the acclaimed sisters star in a film together. The film also stars Mark Rylance, Shira Haas and rising star Edmund Donovan.
Michael Morris will direct the film from a script by award-winning screenwriter Dana Stevens. The project is produced by Elizabeth Cantillon for The Cantillon Company, Dakota and Elle Fanning and Brittany Kahan Ward for Lewellen Pictures and Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter for Hello Sunshine. Sony Pictures is releasing the film theatrically on February 12, 2027.
The Nightingale tells the powerful story of two sisters during WWII who dare to embark on separate, dangerous paths in the fight for survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France.
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A global phenomenon, Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale has sold over 11 million copies worldwide and been translated into 45 languages. Since debuting in 2015, the novel has become a cultural touchstone, hitting #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list and spending a combined 165 weeks on the NYT Best Sellers list across formats. It also dominated NPR’s fiction chart for 45 weeks and was named a Reese’s Book Club Pick in March 2023. In March 2025, a special 10th Anniversary Edition soared to #2 on the NYT hardcover list. The Nightingale has sold an astounding one million copies so far this year, reaffirming the novel’s enduring power and continued resonance with readers around the world.
Nicole Brown and Shary Shirazi are overseeing for TriStar Pictures.
Schuch is an award-winning German actor whose credits include Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award, and German film’s System Crasher and Peacock. He is repped by UTA, B-Side Management, and Agentur Lambsdorff.
Hodge is an award-winning actor whose credits include Todd Phillips’ Joker, We Live in Time, and most recently the critically acclaimed Pillion. He is repped by Innovative Artists and United Agents.
Lee’s credits include Bohemian Rhapsody and the Golden Globe nominated The Great for which he co-starred opposite Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult. He is repped by B-Side Management and Gersh Agency.
Robinson received a British Independent Film Award for Boiling Point. Most recently she starred in Othello at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. She is repped by Curtis Brown Group.