After a weekend of teasing, Joss Whedon’s loyal army of fans still hadn’t received confirmation that his seemingly too-good-to-be-true independent film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing was anything more than an elaborate prank. Sure, there was a website, and actors close to Whedon were tweeting about it — but how could the guy ever have found time to make a secret movie while he has so many other projects in the works?
Well, never mind how he accomplished it, but it looks like Much Ado About Nothing really, really is real. Whedonesque has posted a new press release about the project, sent by Whedon and Kai Cole’s new micro-studio, Bellwether Pictures, for which Much Ado will be the first feature. Shot in just 12 days in Santa Monica — oh, guess that’s how he did it — the adaptation will reflect Whedon’s belief that the play is “a deconstruction of the idea of love, which is ironic, since the entire production is a love letter – to the text, to the cast, even to the house it’s shot in.” And, yes, it really does star a raft of your favorite Whedon alums: Amy Acker (Fred from Angel) is Beatrice, Alexis Denisof (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel‘s Wesley) is Benedick, Nathan Fillion (Firefly‘s captain) is Dogberry, and Fran Kranz (Dollhouse‘s Topher) is Claudio. Much Ado should be done by spring, at which point it’s headed for the festival circuit (and hopefully, eventually, a theater near us).