When is ‘Rebecca’ on Netflix? We reveal the film’s soundtrack, cast and release date

23 October 2020, 09:43

Rebecca | Official Trailer

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Daphne du Maurier’s great Gothic thriller is being adapted into a new film for Netflix starring Lily James and Armie Hammer. Here’s all you need to know about its soundtrack, cast and release date.

From the producers of The Darkest Hour and Atonement comes a Netflix film adaptation of Rebecca, the 1938 Gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier.

Rebecca, which famously opens with the line “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”, is set on the grand, forenamed estate on the English coast in Cornwall, owned by wealthy widower Maxim De Winter, played by Armie Hammer (Call Me by Your Name).

The narrator, engaged to Mr De Winter after a whirlwind romance that opens the novel, is a young woman in her 20s played by Lily James (Mamma Mia 2) whose name we never find out. She is known to the reader simply as the second Mrs De Winter.

Soon after the newlyweds arrive at Manderley, Mrs De Winter encounters Mrs Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas), a sinister housekeeper who harbours a deep and unhealthy obsession with Maxim’s first wife, Rebecca, whose presence begins to haunt the second Mrs De Winter.

Kristin Scott Thomas plays Mrs Danvers. Picture: Netflix

As the novel goes on, the young woman becomes ever more convinced her husband is still in love with his ‘perfect’ first wife, so beloved by Mrs Danvers. But as the narrator learns of ‘the accident’ that caused Rebecca’s death, life at Manderley as she knew it begins to unravel.

From the cast and release date to the soundtrack, here’s everything you need to know about Netflix’s Rebecca.

What is the soundtrack for ‘Rebecca’?

The music for the psychological thriller comes from former pop musician and West Midlands-based composer, Clint Mansell.

Mansell is best known for scoring Black Swan (2010), The Fountain (2006) and Moon (2009). He has also worked on the music for Netflix’s Black Mirror.

You can listen to the full soundtrack album on Spotify here.

Armie Hammer and Lily James to star in Rebecca. Picture: Netflix

Who is in the cast of ‘Rebecca’?

In Du Maurier’s novel, the young woman is in her early 20s, while Maxim is 42. The significant age gap will seemingly play a less important role in the Netflix adaptation, as the two leads James (31) and Hammer (34) are only separated by three years.

Kristin Scott Thomas plays the sinister Mrs Danvers, while Keeley Hawes stars as Maxim’s sister – the ever warm, welcoming Beatrice Lacy.

Ann Dowd is the young woman’s companion in Monte Carlo, who introduces her to Maxim, and Bill Paterson stars as Dr Baker.

Rebecca is directed by Ben Wheatley (High Rise), with a screenplay by Jane Goldman and Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse. The adaptation is produced by Working Title Films.

Du Maurier’s novel was originally adapted by Hitchcock in 1940, in an Oscar-winning production starring Laurence Olivier as Maxim, and Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs De Winter.