It’s 2026, though it could be mistaken for the early 1800s with the revival of period dramas we’ve been seeing on our screens.
From the popular BBC show The Other Bennet Sister, which hit screens earlier this year, to an upcoming version of Pride and Prejudice set to debut on Netflix before the year’s out, Jane Austen adaptations are in no short supply.
Out before the month’s end is Sense and Sensibility, directed by Georgia Oakley and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood. It's an adaptation of Austen’s debut novel, published over 200 years ago in 1811.
Standing outside a packed Leicester Square on Tuesday, with endless fans, influencers and of course the cast and crew, there is no question that there is a buzz around the movie and the iconic story it tells.
But why now? What makes a story over two centuries resonate so much with today’s audience?
“ I think it's the timeless of her writing,” George McKay told The Standard. MacKay plays Edward Ferrars, Austen’s new leading man.
“Everything that she's talking about, whilst the social context is very specific to the time, it's all about balancing your own wants and yearnings and passions up against what's expected socially.
“I think it's an eternal question. It's just the, the context changes, but the conundrum's still the same.”
For director Georgia Oakley, it’s not lost on her that we’ve recently hit the 200-year anniversary of Austen’s death, though believes that Austen’s work will always be timeless.
“She was writing about themes at the time that were relevant to her and society she grew up in, but that are inherently contemporary, and that's why we can't move away from it because it's still so relevant today.”
The beloved writer, who died at the age of 41 in 1817, completed six major novels during her lifetime, all of which have been adapted countless times.
1995 was a huge year for Austen fans, with the TV adaptation Pride and Prejudice featuring Colin Firth as Mr Darcy becoming synonymous with the character for many fans.
It also gave us the Sense and Sensibility adaptation starring Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet, which again, has become a mainstay in the Austen cinematic universe.
However, 2026 seems like it could best 1995, with three adaptations all coming out within one singular year. It also comes just one year after the 250th anniversary of her birth in 1775.
Bodhi Rae Brethnach, who plays youngest sister Margaret Dashwood, said today’s audience “love her because she’s obviously such a brilliant writer”.
“I think the issues and, you know, the circumstances that she discussed almost 200 years ago are still very relevant today. How women's experiences are in today's society; heartbreak, sisterhood. Everything she discusses is still so relevant today.”
Our desire for yearning in the modern year of 2026 cannot be understated, the cast stresses as they reflect on why Austen is so popular today.
“I think in a world where we're so based on social media, so based away from one another, not connected to each other, there's a deep desire for yearningness there,” said Turlough Convery, who plays Sir John Middleton.
Convery said social media can be “wonderful because it means you actually get to connect with people across the entire world”, but that for many, there’s a desire to live a more private life, where every thought isn’t shared online.
“There's a longing in her writing which I think we resonate very deeply with now.”
Frank Dillane, who plays John Willoughby, the dashing and handsome romantic interest of Marianne Dashwood, agreed, stating that “yearning is making a comeback”.
“That period was so structured, and there were rules to dating and to etiquette and how to behave. Maybe we are sort of yearning for the simplicity of rules to make our lives a little easy to understand”.
