With roles in Omaha and Deep Water, it’s been a big year for young actress Molly Belle Wright already. And yet, her biggest film might be right around the corner as it could be the start of a franchise. Wright is set to star in Flavia: Girl Detective, playing the titular sleuth in an adaptation of late writer Alan Bradley’s first book in the popular series launched in 2009.
Flavia: Girl Detective is based on 2009’s The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, which led to eleven sequels, including next month’s Numb Were the Beadsman’s Fingers.
Wright plays Flavia de Luce, a preteen who discovers a dead body in the garden, but instead of being shocked by it, she’s excited to have a case to crack. Unfortunately, it’s her widowed father who is accused of the crime, and she teams up with a reluctant Inspector to prove his innocence.
Martin Freeman, who played John Watson on three seasons of Sherlock, returns to the mystery genre as Flavia’s father. Also in the cast are Toby Jones, Jonathan Pryce, Hannah New, Annette Badland, and Tallulah Conabeare.
The film is directed by Bharat Nalluri (The Crow: Salvation, Miss Petigrew Lives for a Day), from a script by Susan Coyne. Nalluri and Coyne previously worked together on The Man Who Invented Christmas.
Flavia: Girl Detective opens on December 4th from Magenta Light Studios.
