Two-time Emmy winner Stephanie Laing is set to direct Runaway Wedding, a romantic comedy for Working Title Films, according to sources who spoke with Deadline on 3 August 2026. Representatives for Working Title declined to comment on the report.

The script comes from Adam Brooks, a writer with deep roots in the Working Title rom-com world. His credits include Definitely, Maybe (2008) and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), as well as the Netflix film The Life. Brooks is represented by WME and Jackoway Austen Tyerman. Laing is represented by CAA and Linden Entertainment.

The story follows Matt and Anna, who fall in love while still underage and run away together to get married. Their parents, Sam and Emily, give chase across the country — and fall for each other along the way. The plot has the young couple confronting what marriage really means, with the screenplay threading questions about age and wisdom through the pursuit. Liza Chasin, whose 3dot Productions produced The Life, is producing the film.

Laing's résumé spans prestige television and independent film. She is a director and executive producer on the Apple TV+ series Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm, which is heading into its third season. Her other Apple credits include Physical (with Rose Byrne), Palm Royale (with Kristen Wiig), and Stick (with Owen Wilson). She won her two Emmys for work on HBO's political satire Veep and Tracey Ullman's sketch series Tracey Takes On….

In March 2026, Laing released Tow, a drama based on the true story of Amanda Ogle, an unhoused Seattle woman who fought a 369-day battle over a $21,634 tow bill to reclaim her life and her car. That film starred Rose Byrne, Dominic Sessa, Ariana DeBose, Octavia Spencer, and Simon Rex. The leap from a fact-based drama about poverty and perseverance to a romantic comedy about teenagers chasing marriage is a shift in register, but Laing has moved between comedy and drama throughout her career — from the sharp satire of Veep to the grounded realism of Tow.

Working Title, the London-based production company behind a long string of commercial romantic comedies, is the natural home for this project. The company has not yet announced a release date, production start, or cast for Runaway Wedding.