THE white muslin dresses look the same but the faces of Foxtel’s Picnic at Hanging Rock are aimed at the Game of Thrones generation who will recognise school headmistress Hester Appleyard as English star Natalie Dormer.

This first look at the cast currently filming in Victoria also reveals the next-generation Miranda, the role made famous in Peter Weir’s 1975 film by the ethereal Anne-Louise Lambert, now played by up-and-coming Queensland actor Lily Sullivan.

media_camera Anne Lambert in scene from film Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Another schoolgirl, Irma, is played by South Australian beauty Samara Weaving who made her name on Home and Away.

Ms Dormer, who also appeared in blockbuster film series The Hunger Games, said she was thrilled to be working with such an exceptional creative team at Fremantle Media.

“This re-imagining of the iconic story will no doubt grab a contemporary audience with its mystery, emotion and wide range of complex, smart female characters,” she said.

“To play Hester Appleyard is a joy”.

'Picnic at Hanging Rock' - Trailer 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' - Trailer

South Australia lost out in its bid to have the six-part series return to the state with production and filming in Victoria, home of the real Hanging Rock whose haunting past inspired the 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay.

In a recent book about the making of the film, Beyond the Rock, author Janelle McCulloch wrote of the difficulty Peter Weir had in casting schoolgirls with a strong sense of innocence – until he came to South Australia and recruited girls from private schools including Loreto College.

“I do think there might be some truth in the fact that South Australian girls were not so affected as the girls from Sydney and Melbourne,” Ms McCulloch said.

“They probably were more natural.”

Other familiar faces in the Picnic remake are Don Hany, Marcus Graham, Orange is the New Black star Yael Stone and Adelaide actor Harrison Gilbertson.

Picnic at Hanging Rock will premiere on Foxtel’s showcase channel at a date to be decided.