Emma’s release on February 21 of this year will be the first female-led classic literature adaptation after the commercial and critical success of Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. Emma looks promising, with its strong cast of Anya-Taylor Joy and Bill Nighy in leading roles and photographer Autumn de Wilde making her directorial debut.

However, some movie viewers may feel that adaptations of Jane Austen novels have been overdone and may want to see other literary heroines on the big screen. Here are ten of whom viewers may want to see over Emma, and the actresses who would play them.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas As Śakuntalā

Śakuntalā (pronounced Shakuntala) is a Sanskrit legend named after the heroine herself. The legend focuses on Śakuntalā, who marries the King Dushyanta. The King loses all memory of her, and when Śakuntalā sees she cannot help her husband remember her, she lives in the woods and raises her and the King’s son on her own.

This legend has been adapted into plays, artwork, operas, and several South Asian films in the 1960s but has yet to be made into a mainstream Bollywood or Hollywood film. Priyanka Chopra Jonas has acted in both Bollywood and Hollywood films and therefore would be a good choice to play Śakuntalā so that it can appeal to both Bollywood and Hollywood audiences.

Nathalie Emmanuel As Morgan Le Fay

Morgan le Fay is an enchantress from Arthurian legend. While she originally was depicted as benevolent and an ally to Arthur, storytellers gradually turned her into the antagonist most people familiar with the Arthurian legends know today. It would be interesting to see her as a heroine and protagonist again, rather than an antagonist.

Nathalie Emmanuel would be perfect to play heroine Morgan le Fay because she is a talented actress and because of her previous role on Game of Thrones, a fantasy drama that drew heavily from Medieval history, showing that she would be well-versed in the genre.

Helena Bonham Carter As The Wife Of Bath

The Wife of Bath is one of the featured characters in Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem The Canterbury Tales. The Wife of Bath is portrayed negatively, going against Medieval societal norms by having married multiple times after becoming a widow each time and also stating that women seek sovereignty over their husbands. It would be interesting to see her portrayed in a more positive, and therefore more feminist fashion.

Helena Bonham Carter has been cast in a variety of roles pertaining to British history and literature, among other roles. She is a versatile and strong actress and would be the best in handling the balance of maintaining the source material while reimagining and improving upon that same material’s depiction of women.

Gal Gadot As Eve

Even though studies state that young adults are leaving religion in large numbers, Hollywood is still able to cash in on media with religious themes and figures. However, these narratives still tend to focus on the men in biblical and other religious tales. Eve and other women in these religious narratives deserve equal recognition. Furthermore, Eve is yet another woman on this list that is often villainized when she is depicted. Eve deserves to be positively portrayed in a film.

Gal Gadot is mostly known for roles in action and comedy films and for portraying strong women characters. While a movie featuring Eve is unlikely to be an action or comedy movie, Gadot can still bring her talent for portraying strong women to the role.

Florence Pugh As Daisy Miller

Daisy Miller is the main character of Henry James’s novella of the same name. She is an American traveling through Europe with her family. She gradually becomes more promiscuous and is ultimately “punished” for her promiscuity. There was a film adaptation of the novella released in 1974 with Cybill Shepherd as Daisy.

Since there has not been a film adaptation since 1974, it is due for an update. A new version could explore modern society through Daisy Miller but without punishing her. Florence Pugh has had an outstanding year in 2019, showing off her acting prowess in films such as Midsommar and Little Women, showing she is more than suited to play a character like Daisy.

Dakota Fanning As Esther Greenwood

Esther Greenwood is the main character in Sylvia Plath’s first and only novel The Bell Jar. The novel follows Esther as she navigates her sense of self, societal norms, and her mental health. Her journey mirrors Plath’s journey and struggles with mental health. Like Daisy Miller, The Bell Jar has only been adapted to film once in the 1970s. Marilyn Hassett was cast as Esther Greenwood for the film.

Since 2016, a new adaptation for The Bell Jar has been in the works with Dakota Fanning cast as Esther Greenwood. At one point, Kirsten Dunst was attached to the project as the director, but as of 2019, she is no longer attached to the project. Unfortunately, the status of the project is currently unknown and there is no set release date.

Zoe Kravitz As Janie Crawford

Janie Crawford is the main character in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. The novel itself is Janie recounting her entire life to her friend Pheoby from her first sexual awakening as a teenager, through multiple marriages, financial independence, and legal troubles. The novel deals with this such as domestic violence, racial inequality, and traditional gender roles.

Oprah Winfrey produced a made-for-television film adaptation of the novel in 2005 with Halle Berry as Janie. Their Eyes Were Watching God was in 2005 and is now still considered a classic and deserves a big budget, theatrically released adaptation. Zoe Kravitz would be perfect to play Janie as she has proven that she can take on dramatic roles as shown in Big Little Lies.

Octavia Spencer As Sethe

In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Sethe is an escaped slave and a mother living with her eighteen-year-old daughter Denver. They live in a house in which a malevolent force appears as Sethe’s eldest daughter, who was killed by Sethe at the age of two so that she would not have to live as a slave. Her grave is marked only as “Beloved,” which is what the spirit calls herself.

Oprah Winfrey produced and starred in an adaptation of the film in 1998. Like other books listed in this article, Beloved is a classic and deserves another adaptation with a larger budget. Octavia Spencer is a talented dramatic actress who would be perfect to play the part of Sethe.

Isabela Merced As Esperanza Cordero

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is considered a modern classic of Chicanx and Latinx literature. The novel is told through vignettes of the life of twelve-year-old Esperanza Cordero, who moved from house to house in Chicago with her family before settling down on Mango Street. The novel depicts her experiences growing up, particularly being a teenager and going through puberty.

Isabela Merced is older than Esperanza is in the book, but it is not uncommon for characters in film to be older than their literature counterparts. Merced has hit the mainstream having acted in films such as Lizzy in the film Instant Family and recently starred as the titular character in Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

Lupita Nyong’o As Celie

The Color Purple by Alice Walker is about Celie, a young woman who grapples with domestic abuse from her father and her husband, racial inequality, gender inequality, and her own sexuality. Throughout the novel, Celie goes from an insecure woman, unsure of her place in society to her found family’s matriarch, a role she carries with confidence.

The Color Purple was adapted into a film in 1985 starring Whoopi Goldberg as Celie. However, Celie and her lover Shug Avery’s sexualities were erased from the film. A new adaptation should be produced without the erasure of Celie and Shug’s sexualities or their relationship. Lupita Nyong’o, a talented dramatic actress, could easily take on the role of Celie.

Next: 10 Tween/Teen Books Begging For A Cinematic Adaptation