For the record, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and really enjoyed it. Sure, it’s not entirely true to the books – what were you expecting? It has zombies in it. And some of the characters were tweaked to fit the roles of martial arts-trained warriors … lord knows Kitty and Lydia actually seem useful. But it was a fun way to take a literary classic that is focused mostly on social cues and heavy on dialogue and throw in some crazy action.

And with the popularity of the book, a sequel quickly got in the works. It was a production I actually wrote about practically two years ago. Since then, three directors have dropped out of the film, one of which is Mike White which is a shame because I love his work. Producer and would-be lead Natalie Portman has apparently also dropped out. Needless to say, it’s not looking particularly good for the film.

But as Halloween night is ending, I have a feeling there’s a reason this film is struggling to get off the ground – I’m not sure it can easily be adapted. The book has a very distinct voice that is oozing with satire. In the consistant Austenian tone, this satire is amplified. I don’t know if a movie can keep that consistency of classical tone while still throwing zombies and ninjas into the mix. Would they be able to keep the action going and have the actors stay in character? Would the cleverness of the book hold on the big screen? I’m just not sure.

I would love to see a good adaption of this book, but the key word there is “good.” If they can’t find a way to make this work, I’d rather they not even make it.