Renate Reinsve has become one of today’s most sought-after actors. Following critically acclaimed films like The Worst Person in the World and Sentimental Value, as well as her two highly anticipated 2026 releases, Fjord and Backroom, it’s safe to say that when we heard Reinsve had been cast in Mia Hansen-Løve’s Mary Wollstonecraft biopic, If Love Should Die, we were ready for what’s to come. As the philosopher and women’s rights advocate Wollstonecraft once said, “strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.” And that is exactly what this biopic promises to deliver.
The film was originally announced in 2024 and is set to follow Wollstonecraft’s life during her final 12 years. But how does one portray such a formidable woman – and the mother of one of the world’s most celebrated authors, Mary Shelley? We're going to have to find out.
Below, discover everything we know so far about the upcoming biopic
Who else is involved?
The biopic was announced at Cannes Film Festival 2026, according to Deadline, during an interview at the Deadline Studio for the Cannes Critics’ Week closing film Adieu Monde Cruel. Where Reinsve announced her involvement in the film, also announced Jane Beever would be cast too in an unknown role. As the only cast announced at this time, it is confirmed MUBI is backing the it alongside Caspian Films, Les Films Pelléas, Mer Film and Our Films, while Call Me By Your Name producer Lorenzo Mieli is also on board, and Mia Hansen-Løve as director and writer.
What will the story be about?
Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, If Love Should Die traces the final years of English writer, philosopher and women’s rights pioneer Mary Wollstonecraft. Best known for her groundbreaking feminist text A Vindication of the Rights of Woman – that argues It argues that women are not naturally inferior to men but only appear that because they lack access to a proper education. Portrayed as a fiercely intellectual and politically radical figure, she was determined to live according to the ideals of the Enlightenment, despite the social constraints placed upon women during the era. Hansen-Løve’s is expected to centre the film on both Wollstonecraft’s emotional life and the revolutionary thinking that cemented her legacy.
In an interview with Deadline Hansen-Løve shares, “My ambition is to capture with as much acuity and truth as possible this pivotal era and the life of a woman that cinema has never before looked at. Iconic in England, Mary Wollstonecraft is not known in France. That suits me: making a film about a figure who is too predictable, or too famous, has never interested me. I am attracted to characters engaged in a quest, devoid of certainties. The souls of artists, no doubt, but I am inspired by the most fragile, the most vulnerable among them.”
When will it be released? We're not sure yet
Announced to start filming in June and July of 2026, we can expect an early 2027 release at festivals. However, with no official release date confirmed yet, stay posted here for more information.
Image: One
