Swedish actor Noomi Rapace (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Prometheus) will head the cast of a gender-swapped film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, according to Deadline.
Swedish-Danish-Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi (Shelley) will direct from a screenplay by Iceland’s Sjón (The Northman). Stine Meldgaard Madsen will produce for Meta Film in collaboration with Boom Films.
Filming is expected to begin in fall 2021.
Abbasi told Deadline, “Shakespeare stole the Hamlet story from [Denmark]. Now it’s our turn to claim it back and make a version so insane and so bloody that makes him turn in his grave. Let’s make Hamlet great again!”
Rapace added, “Hamlet is a dream project in its purest and most explosive way. I’ve been hoping, dreaming, wishing for this as long as I’ve been an actress. I base this as much on the material as on the creative alliance that surrounds it. Ali, Sjón, and Meta are for me creatives on the highest level. They’re truly brave and groundbreaking in their different areas and always on top of their game. To take on a Danish story with a Scandinavian touch and bring it out into the world with this group of people is a dream.”