The 1971 original was directed by Don Siegel and cast Clint Eastwood as an injured Union soldier who is imprisoned in a Confederate girls' boarding school during the Civil War. He charms his way into the hearts of women of all ages at the institution and causes jealousy and betrayal to spread.
Farrell would be playing that role, with Fanning as a student, Kidman the head mistress and Coppola regular Dunst a teacher. With Coppola adapting Thomas Cullinan's novel, she's looking to start shooting this year. As for Farrell, he has Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them next up and is attached to star in The Lobster director Yorgos Lanthimos' latest, The Killing Of A Sacred Deer.