Leslye Headland: Meet the ‘Acolyte’ and ‘Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ Director

Netflix’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo movie is one step closer to hitting the big screen. More than a year after the streamer confirmed it had taken over an adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid‘s 2017 best-selling novel, which was previously set to be made into a limited series at Freeform, news broke in June that Leslye Headland is set to direct, marking just her latest credit in an already impressive career.

Headland, 43, is an established playwright, screenwriter, and director. After receiving her BFA in drama from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in 2002, Headland began her career writing for the theater and is known as a playwright for her Seven Deadly Sins cycle: Cinephillia (lust), Bachelorette (gluttony), Assistance (greed), Surfer Girl (sloth), Reverb (wrath), The Accidental Blonde (envy), and Cult of Love (pride). She segued into TV in 2010 when she became a staff writer for FX’s television series Terriers. In 2012, she made her debut as a feature film director when she wrote and directed the film version of her play Bachelorette, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. She also wrote About Last Night and worked on series like Black Monday and Smilf.

Headland’s career took off secured the opportunity to be the showrunner Netflix’s hit series Russian Doll. Headland co-created the series alongside Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler and also directed four episodes of the show’s debut season. The series became an instant success, and Headland was later tapped by Netflix to direct the film Tell Me Everything.

Headland has since branched out from Netflix, recently teaming with Disney and Lucasfilm for the creation of The Acolyte, the latest title in the growing Star Wars catalogue. Headland is attached to the series as creator, showrunner, writer, and executive producer, with her involvement in the project leading her to secure a multi-year overall deal with the Disney-owned studio that will see her generating, developing, and directing a range of series for various platforms.

Headland’s upcoming role as director on The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo will mark one of her biggest projects yet, and it seems to be one that was highly coveted. According to Deadline‘s report, “every high-profile director in town” was desperate to score the role. The movie is an adaptation of Jenkins Reid’s 2017 New York Times bestseller, which tells the story of Evelyn Hugo, a fictional Old Hollywood star who, at the age of 79, sits down with an up-and-coming journalist to give her final interview, Hugo divulging all of the details on her seven marriages and one true love. The film does not yet have a cast or a premiere date.