Riz Ahmed is finally making his modern-day Hamlet movie
Ahmed's Shakespeare adaptation was first announced in 2017
Aux News Riz Ahmed
Riz Ahmed’s long-gestating Hamlet film is finally happening. The modern-day Shakespeare adaptation, first announced in 2017, is moving forward with director Aneil Karia.
“This is a Hamlet about race, mental health and inequality, which asks if setting things right means setting fire to the old order,” the duo say, as reported by Variety. “Our Hamlet is an outsider in a wealthy British Indian family, who starts to question his relatives’ morality and his own sanity after encountering his father’s ghost. Hamlet’s bloody quest for revenge against his father’s killer will be told with a boldness and urgency that grabs hold of audiences and won’t let go.”
Ahmed and Karia recently won the best live-action short film Oscar for The Long Goodbye, a companion piece to Ahmed’s album of the same name. The multi-hyphenate was nominated for best actor in 2021 for Sound Of Metal and previously earned an Emmy for his role on The Night Of.
“We want to continue what we started with The Long Goodbye, in telling a story that is both totally grounded and authentic but then pushes into action, thriller, genre, and poetry,” their statement continues. “We’ve both felt on the outside of Shakespeare, but as South Asians also deeply connect to what these stories are about–themes like family, honor, and duty. So, our aim is to bring Hamlet to life by setting it in our own community. We want to crack this timeless story open for a wider audience–with a diverse cast, a contemporary London setting, and by injecting classical verse with the energy of rap, a genre which we have both worked in for years.”
Hamlet will co-star Morfydd Clark as Ophelia and Joe Alwyn as Laertes. As announced in 2017, screenwriter Michael Lesslie remains attached to the project.
The film was originally going to be a Netflix production, but will now be hitting the market at Cannes. Ahmed has a first-look deal for television at Prime Video.
The actor/rapper has a busy schedule coming up. He was also recently announced as starring in Fingernails, opposite Jessie Buckley, and is set to appear in the adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s novel Exit West. He’ll also have a voice role in Nimona. With any luck, Ahmed will also have time to make another Swet Shop Boys album.
8 Comments
Can’t wait for the big twist!
Will it end in a nude battle on a volcano?
Shakespeare was a hack. His stuff is nothing but a bunch of famous quotes strung together one after another
“Hamlet’s bloody quest for revenge against his father’s killer will be told with a boldness and urgency that grabs hold of audiences and won’t let go.”I have an idea: Stop remaking Shakespeare. JFC. Every decade there’s some nitwit that wants to put there spin on one of his plays. I might be wrong, but at least Branagh finally figured out that a four hour film of Hamlet was time for him to call it quits on Shakespeare. “Oh, let’s update it and reimagine it in different time or place or country or planet or who the fuck cares let’s make the damn thing.” Here’s an idea: Spend the money on something original instead of remaking a play from the 1600’s.
Well, Shakespeare is not for everyone.
If you’ve never seen it, look for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring a low-budget production of “Hamlet” made for German television, starring a very young Maximillian Schell (and the English-language dub of Claudius is the instantly-recognizable voice of Ricardo Montalban!). They have a field day with it. One of the host segments is a game show, “Alas, Poor … Who?” in which the contestants are asked to identify dead celebrities based on a piece of their skeletal system.
There’s actually a fantastic version of Hamlet in theaters now and it’s called The Northman and it’s all about what would happen if Hamlet got shit done.
Prince of Jutland already exists and is perfect.Christian Bale’s best performance.