Wicked film star Cynthia Erivo is keeping her movie career stage adjacent, at least for now! According to Variety, the Tony winner has signed on to a new film version of Shakespeare's Othello, adapted from a 2016 Off-Broadway revival at New York Theatre Workshop. The project will film in Qatar. This version re-sets the classic tragedy in a modern day Middle Eastern desert in the midst of war.
Reprising his Off-Broadway performance in the title role will be David Oyelowo, who's also directing the project. Rachel Brosnahan will also reprise her stage performance, as Desdemona. Erivo is slated to play Emilia.
The sold-out Off-Broadway production was directed by Sam Gold, and also starred Daniel Craig as Iago. David Sexton served as a dramaturg and text consultant. It's unclear who will be writing the screenplay for this new film.
Tony winner Barbara Broccoli is producing with Nicky Bentham for Eon Productions and Oyelowo for Yoruba Saxon. No release date or production timeline has yet been shared. See photos from the New York Theatre Workshop production of Othello below.
