Netflix series adaptation of East of Eden with Florence Pugh releases first trailer

John Steinbeck novel East of Eden is considered one of the greats of the American literary canon, but has proven to be something of a white whale for filmmakers.

Elia Kazan released a film version three years after the publication of Steinbeck’s book, and it was not only well regarded, it also became inextricably tied to James Dean’s legacy after the actor died six months later.

Dean’s death in a motorcycle accident at the age of 24 was a tragedy, and it contributed to his icon status considering his relatively short career. East of Eden was the first of his three major performances and that trio of films – the others being Rebel Without a Cause and Giant – are now classics.

Perhaps that’s why so many subsequent attempts at a film adaptation including by Ron Howard, Gary Ross and Tom Hooper, never got very far. There was a 1980s TV version, but it’s Dean legacy which looms large.

Perhaps then, the only person who could tackle it, and has, is Kazan’s granddaughter, actor and filmmaker Zoe Kazan, and for the focus to shift from Cal Trask, the impetuous and ambitious “bad twin” that Dean played, to Cathy, the mother from whom he apparently inherited his so-called undesirable traits.

Netflix released the first teaser trailer to this East of Eden miniseries at its upfronts presentation in the US. It gives audiences a glimpse of the lush production design and of Florence Pugh as Cathy, a character who has been villainised and reclaimed.

Steinbeck’s story is set in the early years of the 20th century, primarily in California (although the production shot in New Zealand), where Adam Trask has moved his new wife, a pregnant Cathy.

Cathy chaffs against the restricting life, and leaves the family after she gives birth to twins, Cal and Aron. She changes her name and becomes a sex worker at a brothel in the nearby town.

The boys grow up under the impression their mother died, and like the mythical biblical tale of Cain and Abel, Cal and Aron are opposites in temperament and action.

Cathy seems to be front and centre of this iteration, and that had been clear from the moment Pugh’s casting was announced. The Oscar-nominated British actor is one of the great talents of her generation, and wouldn’t be playing second string to anyone else.

It will be interesting to see Kazan’s version of Cathy, a character that has been divisive since the publication of Steinbeck’s book in 1952. She is judged harshly by the characters within the story, but she could also be read as a defiant person pushing against the gendered social expectations of the era.

Kazan has good form in re-evaluating female characters that have been bound by archetypes.

With the film Ruby Sparks, which she wrote, directed and starred in, she deconstructed the Manic Pixie Dreamgirl cliche by rendering her literally the idealised creation of a male writer, who then struggles once the character starts to assert independence and agency. Kazan also co-wrote the film Wildlife with real-life partner Paul Dano.

The task of following in Dean’s footsteps as Cal in Kazan’s East to Eden falls to Australian actor Joseph Zada, who’s about to break out in a big way later this year between this role and the upcoming Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping. Joe Anders, the son of Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes, will play Aron.

The rest of the cast includes Christopher Abbott as Adam, Mike Faist as Charles, Hoon Lee as Lee, Ciaran Hinds as Samuel, Tracy Letts as Cyrus and Zoe Phillips as Abra.

Kazan wrote the seven episodes and serves as co-showrunner alongside Jeb Stuart. Australian director Garth Davis helmed the first four chapters and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre directed the final three.

The series will premiere in later this year in spring.