Netflix has found its Anne in Irish Canadian actress Amybeth McNulty. The announcement was made yesterday by Deadline along with two other cast roles in the new adaptation.
Fans of the classic young adult books by L.M. Montgomery have been atwitter since the new adaptation was announced by Netflix at the end of the summer. This casting announcement will hopefully drive many a reader to braid their hair and wonder just how much it would cost to plan a last minute trip to Prince Edward Island, the setting of Anne’s young adulthood. Netflix is working with Canada’s CBC on the two-season, eight episode series that is expected to hit our various streaming devices in 2017.
“She has so much love for the world, which I think I share with her. And her curiosity about everything, how she can be so fierce and so bold but so gentle and so loving,” McNulty said of her new character to Canada’s CBC website. The more you see of the young woman, the more pitch perfect her casting seems. Below you can see her in action, and after the braids and the smock, it is only too perfect that she describes herself as a bookworm who was already a fan of Montgomery’s books.
Alongside McNulty’s casting came news that Geraldine James and R.H. Thomson have been cast as the Cuthberts opposite her Anne. In a bit of Hollywood magic, this is a return to Avonlea for Thomson, who played Jasper Dale in the 90’s television show Road to Avonlea.
Anne is currently shooting in Canada. The first season is set to premiere next spring both on CBC and streaming on Netflix. McNulty beat out more than 1,800 other young actresses for the title role. After seeing the footage above, this reader is very excited to see Anne Shirley come back to life on the small screen. Tell us what you think of the casting news in the comments below!
Image via CBC/Northwood Entertainment
