Josh O'Connor and Lesley Manville's Scotland-set period drama is coming to Netflix

Netflix has just acquired Joel Coen's upcoming Gothic mystery movie set in the Scottish Highlands and starring Josh O'Connor and Lesley Manville.

Titled Jack of Spades, the film adapts Frances Frederica Montrésor's 1901 novel The Alien: A Story of Middle Age and is described as a story of intrigue and betrayal taking place in the 1880s.

Written by Eleanor Catton, Joel and Ethan Coen and Conor McPherson, Jack of Spades marks Joel Coen's second solo directorial offering after 2021's The Tragedy of Macbeth, which starred Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington.

The upcoming period drama is the second collaboration between the Coen Brothers and Netflix after 2018's Western anthology dark comedy The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, written and directed by both Joel and Ethan.

Related: UK film release dates

Netflix has now bought the distribution rights for Jack of Spades, with plans for an autumn 2027 cinema release ahead of the film's streaming debut (via Variety).

McDormand, as well as Miss Austen star Patsy Ferran and Homeland's Damian Lewis, are set to star alongside Manville and O'Connor. Further details of the film's cast and plot are yet to be shared.

In August, Variety first reported that a first version of the film, which shot in Glasgow last year, closed in at about 150 minutes but was received positively, with a second, tighter cut then being shown for prospective studios.

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The movie is produced by Coen and his wife, Oscar-winning star McDormand, who also backed The Tragedy of Macbeth. More of Coen's frequent collaborators have worked on the film, including cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel and composer Carter Burwell.

Jack of Spades is expected to release in cinemas in 2027 ahead of its streaming debut on Netflix.

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Reporter, Digital Spy

Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy. 

Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).