Countless Jane Austen adaptations are released into the wild every year, but very few have staying power anywhere close to the author’s words themselves. With Pride & Prejudice being her most popular novel, it naturally also has the most compeтιтors for the тιтle of definitive adaptation. While many have tried, two remain champions: the 1995 BBC miniseries starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen. The latter of the two has hit its 20th anniversary, and Focus Features is celebrating with a theatrical re-release starting April 20.

Pride & Prejudice may seem a simple story, but it is deceptively so, and the proof is in the sheer number of failed adaptations – or of charming attempts that nonetheless do not quite capture the full picture of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy’s romance. What sets the 2005 version, directed by Joe Wright from a screenplay by Deborah Moggach is how it manages to incorporate the depth of Austen’s world without sacrificing the medium’s need for brevity. Oftentimes, a look will do when one of the author’s incredible speeches simply cannot fit.

In honor of the film’s 20th anniversary and re-release, ScreenRant interviewed Wright for a walk down memory lane. The director recalled his initial approach to the material and why he felt Pride & Prejudice needed more Sєxual tension than others might suspect. He also addressed some fan-favorite improvised moments, the divisive alternate ending, and his next possible collaboration with Knightley.

Pride & Prejudice Was An Ambitious First Film For Joe Wright

It Also Unexpectedly Launched Carey Mulligan’s Stellar Career

The Jane Austen fandom may be centuries old, but the years have not made it any less rabid. It’s impossible to imagine any director taking on the task of a Pride & Prejudice adaptation without consideration for audiences’ exacting expectations, and to top it all off, the movie would serve as Wright’s feature film directorial debut. When asked if that came with any added pressure, Wright recalled “a producer at the time saying, ‘One in ten first-time directors ever gets to make a second movie.’ I was really shocked by that because I was hoping for a career in directing!”

Despite that, he began his work with something of a blank slate. “I don’t think I really took on the weight of expectations with an Austen adaptation. I was so in love with the book and so excited about discovering an alternative to what I’d seen before of Austen adaptations.” The alternative he saw is part of what makes the 2005 version stand out to this day. “There was a youthful, fiery exuberance to the book and to the character of Elizabeth Bennet, so I loved the idea of casting actors of the right ages for the roles.”

Indeed, Elizabeth Bennett is not yet 21 in the novel, and Fitzwilliam Darcy is said to be 28. And yet, film adaptations – even modernized ones – rarely cast actors who are that young. Knightley was 20 when Pride & Prejudice came out, while Macfadyen was 31, making them much closer mirrors of their characters. The primary point for Wright, though, was the narrative. “I just loved the story and wanted to honor both it and Austen as a writer and as a human being.”

Pride & Prejudice didn’t just mark Wright’s big screen debut, it also served as the world’s introduction to Carey Mulligan. Did the director expect that the actor portraying the often forgotten Kitty Bennet would become one of the biggest stars around? “Honestly, no,” Wright reflected. That being said, she did stand out to him from the start. “We met a lot of young actors for all of those roles, and she was working in a pub at the time, I think. She came in and read for us, and she was just delightful and funny and so excited.”

“I remember her walking onto the set of the ball and bursting into tears,” he recalled fondly. “I asked, ‘What’s the matter?’ She said, ‘Oh, it’s all just so beautiful.’ It was the first time she’d ever walked onto a built film set.” The director was full of praise for her career, as well as the trajectory all his actors have taken. “It’s really thrilling to see what’s happened with her career and her meteoric rise. We’ve all gone on to live wonderful and rich lives, and it’s exciting to see and now exciting to look back 20 years later.”

One Of The Strengths Of Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice Is Body Language

Although The Overly Romantic Final Scene May Have Been A Touch Too Far

Many Jane Austen enthusiasts point to the 1995 BBC miniseries as the gold standard of Pride & Prejudice adaptations due to its faithful interpretation of the text, but a two-hour movie does not have the same luxury. Deborah Moggach’s screenplay has no choice but to dispense with several key scenes that move Darcy and Elizabeth towards each other, but Wright’s directing offers several shortcuts to communicate their romantic progress in ways beyond dialogue. “What I was interested in was this conflict between their intellects and their bodies,” he explained.

Without Moggach much changing the scenes that did make it into the final cut, Wright’s film imbues several moments with a Sєxually charged energy that can only be read between the lines of Austen’s book. “The body is often smarter than the mind, and their bodies knew something their minds didn’t,” was the director’s reasoning for his choice. “This creates a kind of internal conflict within the characters and within the narrative as well, so one is constantly playing the subtext of what’s going on.”

One beloved moment that speaks to his point is the hand flex after Darcy helps Elizabeth into her carriage – a gesture Macfadyen admitted to having improvised, but which he credited Wright for catching and recreating. Wright included another sequence as part of that pattern: the iconic rain proposal. “Matthew was glancing down at Keira’s mouth, and that said so much that I extended that moment,” the director recalled his response to the actor’s impulse. “That seemed to speak to this idea of the internal conflict going on between them; between what they say and what they want and mean.”

On the other hand, the happy couple said exactly what they meant in the final scene of the U.S. edition, which has been H๏τly debated across the pond. The international cut chose to close on Mr. Bennet’s chuckle, while the domestic one added a final moment in which Fitzwilliam calls his new bride “Mrs. Darcy” to express how incandescently happy he is while they kiss. Wright came down definitely on one side, saying, “I like the British version’s ending. It’s just simpler [and] less sugary.” In retrospect, he pointed to how “it honors Donald Sutherland.”

Why does it remain in the U.S. cut, then? “As I said at the time, the American audience likes a bit of sugar.”

Where Joe Wright Stands Now With Jane Austen Adaptations, Keira Knightley & The Agency

“It’s My Favorite, And I’m Not Sure How I’d Follow That Up”

In what is perhaps a perfect coincidence, another Pride & Prejudice adaptation is on the way – this time a Netflix series starring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden. Wright was positive about the announcement, saying, “I’ve seen the cast, and I think they’re great. It’s very exciting.” As for advice? He had none to give, though he was complimentary. “I’m sure they’ll reinvent and reinterpret it for a new generation.”

Perhaps more surprising is the fact that he has yet to do another Jane Austen film adaptation in the 20 years since his debut. His reason was a rather endearing one: “I love the book Pride and Prejudice so much. I think it’s my favorite, and I’m not sure how I’d follow that up.” Thankfully, though, he did not rule out returning to that well in the future.

Another well that he was more enthusiastic about returning to was his collaboration with Keira Knightley. The duo had a stellar following Pride & Prejudice, with Atonement and Anna Karenina receiving much critical acclaim. Would that trilogy ever become a quadrilogy? Though Wright joked that “a quadrilogy doesn’t roll off the tongue in the same way, that’s the problem,” he was enthusiastic about the possibility of working with Knightley once more. “I hope so. I was talking to her the other week. We have nothing planned, but she’s a dear friend, and who knows where life will lead us.”

Finally, Wright couldn’t be sent on his way without a question about The Agency, which saw huge success on Paramount+. “I think season 2 starts shooting at the end of this month, and I’m very excited by the scripts,” he remarked. “The cast is great, and it’s gratifying to see that it’s having this life.” His directing in the first episode proved he hasn’t lost his touch, regardless of the genre, and hopefully, season 2 will showcase more of the same.

Pride & Prejudice is being re-released in select theaters beginning on April 20, and tickets are available through Focus Features.