Ophelia trailer: Daisy Ridley causes chaos in Shakespeare’s broken kingdom

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

This one is for all of you literary buffs who, throughout your career of reading the works of William Shakespeare, felt as if Ophelia from Hamlet might have been misunderstood. After all, her story was quite tragic, what with being driven mad by her father and all. It just goes to show you that times were tough for the characters of Shakespeare's legendary plays, especially the ones meant to be consumed by a life of sadness and grief.

Today IFC Films has debuted a trailer for OPHELIA, a bold re-imagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Helmed by SKIN and THE WAITING CITY director Claire McCarthy, OPHELIA is set in the 14th Century and has STAR WARS breakout actor Daisy Ridley taking center stage as Queen Gertrude’s (Naomi Watts) most trusted lady-in-waiting. Beautiful and intelligent, she soon captures the attention of the handsome Prince Hamlet (George MacKay) and a forbidden love blossoms. As war brews, lust and betrayal are tearing Elsinore Castle apart from within and Ophelia must decide between her true love or her own life in order to protect a very dangerous secret.

When McCarthy's intense new take on the classic tale arrives, it will do so using a contemporary voice, as opposed to employing the linguistic gymnastics of the Bard's twisted and romantic tongue. Furthermore, Ridely, Watts, and MacKay will be joined by Clive Owen as Claudius, Devin Terell as Horatio, Dominic Mafham as Polonius, and HARRY POTTER alum Tom Felton as Laertes.

Personally, I'd always struggled a bit when reading Shakespeare's timeless works, so the idea of this film being presented in a contemporary voice has me feeling quite relieved. After all, I love the drama of The Bard of Avalon's literary universe, and with Ridley starring as the tortured Ophelia, I must say that I'm intrigued by this one.

OPHELIA is rated PG-13 for a scene of violence / bloody images, some sensuality & thematic elements, with plans to release the film in theaters on June 28, 2019, and On Demand and Digital come July 3, 2019.