Director Greta Gerwig would like to reintroduce you to the March sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy – in the first trailer for Little Women.

The first look at the eighth film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved 1869 novel of the same name about a group of women coming of age in post-Civil War America was released on Tuesday, marking the arrival of a major contender come awards season. 

The film reunites the Lady Bird director with actors Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet, who play the strong-willed Jo March – a personal hero for Gerwig – and boy next door Theodore ‘Laurie’ Laurence. 

Sharp Objects’ breakout star Eliza Scanlan (Beth), Midsommar’s Florence Pugh (Amy) and Emma Watson (Meg) play the remaining March sisters, with Meryl Streep, Laura Dern and Bob Odenkirk rounding out the supporting cast. 

Like many young women, the classic text was formative for Greta Gerwig, who’s approached the adaptation with a faithful eye, filming scenes on-location in Massachusetts where Alcott and her sisters were raised, while also infusing the age-old story with some fresh touches.  

Greta, who also penned the screen adaptation, previously told Vanity Fair about her connection to the novel.

“This feels like autobiography,” she said. “When you live through a book, it almost becomes the landscape of your inner life. … It becomes part of you, in a profound way.”

Little Women is released in UK cinemas on 27 December 2019.