Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson are reuniting to star in a TV movie version of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Richard Eyre will direct the adaptation, which begins principal photography this month Oct17).
King Lear will be set in the present day and will star Hopkins as the ruler of a totalitarian military dictatorship in England. Thompson will play his oldest daughter Goneril, while Emily Watson will portray his middle daughter Regan and Florence Pugh will appear in the TV adaptation as Cordelia.
Jim Broadbent, Andrew Scott, John Macmillan, Jim Carter, Christopher Eccleston, Tobias Menzies, Anthony Calf and Karl Johnson will also feature in the project, which will premiere on BBC Two next year (18).
“It is a tribute to the great Richard Eyre that we have brought together such a remarkable cast,” executive producers Colin Callender and Sonia Friedman says. “The film is a testament to the BBC’s on-going commitment to the single drama, and we are very appreciative of their continued support.”
Hopkins and Thompson previously worked together on Howards End and The Remains Of The Day.
