Doctor Who star Matt Smith has joined the cast of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the long-in-development adaptation of author Seth Grahame-Smith‘s twist on the classic Jane Austen novel.

Smith will play Mr. Collins, a clergyman on the search for a wife who proposes to the main heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, who will be played by Lily James (Downton Abbey, Cinderella [2015]).

Part of Amazon’s monthly Kindle ebook deals is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith‘s zombie mash-up of the Jane Austen classic, for only $2.79 (that’s 78% off the regular price of $12.95). If you’d like to purchase a physical copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the book is also available in paperback and hardcover.

Be sure to check out this month’s Kindle deals: 100 Kindle Books For $3.99 or Less, which includes Kurt Vonnegut’s Jailbird for $1.99 and Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey for $1.99.

Do you like Lily Collins?

The young up-and-coming actress and daughter of Phil, after a stint on the newer 90210, first appeared in The Blind Side, and has since starred in movies like Priest, Abduction, and live-action take on the tale of Snow White, Mirror Mirror.

Now the actress has joined a movie that has had troubles moving forward, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The movie is based on the dark and twisted remixed take on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice penned by author Seth Grahame-Smith.

Just to show you can’t keep a zombie movie of indeterminate quality down, the long-in-development screen adaptation of Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith‘s (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) mash-up of Jane Austen‘s beloved 1813 novel that is in the public domain and the zombie horror genre first published to great acclaim and sales four years ago, is back on track for the umpteenth time.

Panorama Media is joining up with Darko Entertainment, Handsomecharlie Films, and producer Allison Shearmur of Allison Shearmur Productions to finally make the Pride, Prejudice and Zombies movie a reality. Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, once mooted to play the female lead Elizabeth Bennet, will produce the movie for Darko Entertainment. David O. Russell, the director of Three Kings and The Silver Linings Playbook, is writing the screenplay and at one point was attached to direct. Other directors who have attempted – and failed – to bring Pride to life include Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) and Mike White (Year of the Dog).

January 28, 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen‘s classic novel Pride and Prejudice. In celebration, Padworx and Quirk Books, the latter of whom published the zombie mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, are offering up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Interactive eBook for FREE right now!

The app, which is designed for both iPhone and iPad, is available through the App Store on your device or through iTunes. With this 400-page interactive ebook, which contains hundreds of illustrations and over 200 interactions, you can read both books separately or at the same time! Hold your device right side up for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; turn it upside down to read the original Pride and Prejudice; turn the device 90 degrees to read both novels side by side.

See below for an illustration showing how the books look through the app, and to watch the trailer for the interactive ebook.