Florence Pugh is adding another literary heavyweight to her résumé. Fresh off Netflix's adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden, the actress has signed on to star in and produce The Midnight Library, based on Matt Haig's 2020 blockbuster novel. The film, which has been in development for six years, will be directed by Garth Davis, who also helmed East of Eden.
Pugh will portray Nora Seed, a woman who gets the chance to explore alternate versions of her life after a suicide attempt leaves her suspended between life and death. In the titular library, each book offers a different path she could have taken—staying with her fiancé, pursuing music with her brother's band, or becoming an Olympic swimmer. With guidance from Mrs. Elm, her former school librarian, Nora steps into these realities, only to discover that no life is without its own complications.
The novel, which has sold over 15 million copies worldwide, struck a chord with readers by asking a universal question: what if you had made different choices? Rather than getting lost in multiverse mechanics, Haig's story focuses on Nora's regret and her struggle to find a reason to keep living. That emotional core will be the film's biggest challenge—and its greatest opportunity.
StudioCanal and Blueprint Pictures acquired the rights in 2020, but only now are they announcing the cast and crew. Laura Wade and Nick Payne are writing the screenplay. Wade's credits include the stage play Posh (which inspired The Riot Club) and the TV adaptation of Rivals, while Payne wrote The Sense of an Ending and We Live in Time. Pugh will produce alongside Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, and Anita Overland. Haig is on board as an executive producer and has expressed enthusiasm for the team bringing Nora's story to the screen.
Pre-production is expected to begin in fall 2026. The project reunites Pugh with Davis, whose previous work includes Lion. Their collaboration on East of Eden—another literary adaptation centered on a complicated woman—makes this second pairing particularly intriguing. Davis has shown a knack for handling internal conflict, which will be essential here: Nora's journey isn't driven by a villain or external threat, but by her own conviction that she's gotten her entire life wrong.
For Pugh, the role demands a performance that keeps Nora recognizable even as her surroundings, relationships, and achievements shift dramatically. She'll need to anchor a film that could easily become a series of alternate-reality vignettes. The screenplay must give each life enough weight to change Nora's perspective while keeping the focus on her decision to return to her own existence. Too much fantasy, and the story loses its emotional grounding; too little, and the library loses its sense of possibility.
Fans of Haig's novel will be watching closely to see if the adaptation captures what made the book resonate with millions. The film's success hinges on making Nora's journey feel less like a tour of missed lives and more like a reckoning with the one she's still able to live. With Pugh's dramatic range and Davis's sensitive direction, The Midnight Library has the potential to be a powerful meditation on regret, hope, and the value of the life we have.
As Pugh continues to balance blockbuster fare with character-driven projects, this adaptation adds another prestigious title to her growing slate. Whether it becomes a awards-season contender or a streaming sensation, The Midnight Library is already one of the most anticipated literary adaptations in development.
