EXCLUSIVE: Mark Rylance and Shira Haas have joined TriStar Pictures’ feature adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s novel, The Nightingale, starring Dakota and Elle Fanning, marking the first time the sisters will star in a film together. The film also stars Edmund Donovan.
Michael Morris will direct the film from a script by Dana Stevens. The project will be 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, arriving in time for Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day holiday weekend.The Nightingale tells the 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.
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.
Rylance best known for his work in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, for which he won an Academy Award for best supporting actor, as well as his roles in Spielberg’s Ready Player One and The BFG. Having also won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, three BAFTAs, and a SAG award, Rylance’s other film credits include Peter Kosminsky’s Wolf Hall, Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. He will next be seen in Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial.
Haas gained prominence internationally for her leading role in the Netflix limited series Unorthodox, for which she received Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics Choice Award nominations and an Independent Spirit Award win. Her other notable credits include her breakout role in the series Shtisel, Bodies, and Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World. Haas will next be seen in Peter Morgan’s adaptation of Ira Levin’s acclaimed thriller The Boys from Brazil and the WWII period movie Triumph of the Will.
Haas is repped by Zohar Ya’kobson Representation, TFC Management and Gersh. Rylance is repped by CAA and Jodi Peikoff at Peikoff Mahan Law Office.
