Remakes continue to be big business in Hollywood, the latest example coming from Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, which are planning a two-part adaptation of the classic John Steinbeck novel “East of Eden.” The film will star Jennifer Lawrence and will be directed by her “Hunger Games” collaborator, Gary Ross.

The 1952 novel was turned into an award-winning movie in 1955, directed by Elia Kazan, though that film mainly concentrated on the second half of Steinbeck’s Book of Genesis allegory. Mr. Ross’s plan is to film two separate movies. One deals with the first generation of the Trask family, in which the character of Cathy Ames, a malevolent and corrupting influence, is a central character.

Ms. Lawrence will play that role, which Jo Van Fleet played in the Kazan movie and for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Details of the “East of Eden” deal were reported Wednesday on the Deadline Hollywood Web site. The announcement comes only two months after Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks announced they planned to film a new adaptation of another classic Steinbeck novel, “The Grapes of Wrath.”