Masterpiece PBS and the BBC are set to begin production on Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, an adaptation of the final novel in Hilary Mantel’s award-winning trilogy.
Mark Rylance will reprise his role as Thomas Cromwell, while Damian Lewis will return as King Henry VIII. Also returning are Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey, Kate Phillips as Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour and Lilit Lesser as Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will trace the final four years of Cromwell’s life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time. Further returning and new cast members will be announced at a later date.
Mantel died last year aged 70 and at that point director Peter Kosminsky said The Mirror and the Light would proceed as a “memorial” to the celebrated British author. The previous two books in the trilogy, Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies, were adapted by Masterpiece and the BBC into one 2015 series.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will be directed by Kosminsky (The Undeclared War, The State), adapted for television by Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frank), and produced by Playground (All Creatures Great and Small, The Undeclared War) and Company Pictures (Van Der Valk, Blood).
“The Mirror and the Light picks up exactly where Wolf Hall ended, with the execution of Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn,” said Kosminsky. “I’m overjoyed to be able to reunite the extraordinary cast we were lucky enough to assemble for Wolf Hall, led by the brilliant Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, with the original creative team of Gavin Finney (DOP), Pat Campbell (Designer) and Joanna Eatwell (Costume Designer). We are all determined to complete what we started – and to honour the final novel written by one of the greatest literary figures of our age, Hilary Mantel.”
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is a Playground and Company Pictures co-production for the BBC and Masterpiece. The series will be distributed internationally by Banijay Rights. The series is directed by Kosminsky, adapted by Peter Straughan, and produced by Lisa Osborne. Executive Producers are Colin Callender and Noëlette Buckley for Playground, Kosminsky, Lucy Richer for the BBC, and Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece.
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