Rebecca on Netflix - start date, first pictures and all you need to know

Netflix Rebecca
(Image credit: Kerry Brown / Netflix)

The film is based on the iconic novel by Daphne du Maurier.

Netflix is releasing a brand new adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, directed by Ben Wheatley.

The new film is arriving on the streaming platform in the autumn. Here's everything you need to know...

What is Rebecca about?

Rebecca was written by Daphne du Maurier, and published in 1938. It was also adapted into a film by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940.

It's widely regarded as one of the best gothic thrillers, with the novel selling over 2.8 million copies when it was originally published.

The novel has never gone out of print, and copies are still widely available today.

According to Netflix, their official synopsis is, "After a whirlwind romance in Monte Carlo with handsome widower Maxim de Winter, a newly married young woman  arrives at Manderley, her new husband’s imposing family estate on a windswept English coast.

"Naive and inexperienced, she begins to settle into the trappings of her new life, but finds herself battling the shadow of Maxim’s first wife, the elegant and urbane Rebecca, whose haunting legacy is kept alive by Manderley’s sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers."

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Netflix Rebecca

Lily James plays Mrs. de Winter in Netflix's Rebecca.

Who stars in Rebecca?

Downton Abbey star Lily James plays Mrs. de Winter, a naive and inexperienced woman who has recently married.

Her husband is Maxim de Winter, a handsome young widower who she met in Monte Carlo. He is played by Armie Hammer.

Kristin Scott Thomas completes the main cast as sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers.

Netflix Rebecca

Armie Hammer and Lily James are Mr and Mrs de Winter.

Other stars include Keeley Hawes as Beatrice Lacy, Tom Goodman-Hill as Frank Crawley, and Ann Dowd as Mrs. Van Hopper.

Is there a trailer for Rebecca?

There's not an official trailer for the new film yet, but hopefully they'll release one soon so we can get a first glimpse!

When is Rebecca released on Netflix?

The thriller is released just in time for Halloween, and lands on Netflix on Wednesday October 21st.

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress