It has been announced that actor Matt Smith of the hit TV series Doctor Who will have a starring role in the horror-comedy film, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

The movie is an adaptation of the Seth Grahame-Smith novel, which parodies Jane Austen’s famous 19th century novel, Pride and Prejudice. The project stars Lily James (Downton Abbey) as Liz Bennett, who is being pressured by her family to marry a wealthy aristocrat but decides instead to focus on defending the countryside against a zombie plague. Matt Smith will play her love interest, Mr. Collins.

Also starring are Sam Riley (Maleficent), Jack Huston (American Hustle), Douglas Booth (Noah) and Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows.)

The screenplay was written by David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) and Burr Steers (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days). Steers is also directing the movie.

Mash-ups that mix Victorian romance with horror are nothing new. One of the better known examples is Jane Slayre, a gruesome retelling of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies begins filming this month and is expected to be released in 2015.