King Lear Trailer: Anthony Hopkins is the Eponymous Ruler

King Lear trailer: Anthony Hopkins is the eponymous ruler

Amazon Studios has announced that King Lear, Richard Eyre’s adaptation of the Shakespeare drama starring Anthony Hopkins and a powerhouse cast, will premiere on Friday, September 28 exclusively on Prime Video in the U.S. You can check out the official trailer now in the player below!

From Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning producer Colin Callender’s Playground and Sonia Friedman Productions, King Lear is adapted and directed by BAFTA and Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre (The Dresser, Notes on a Scandal). The feature-length film stars Anthony Hopkins (The Dresser, Nixon, The Silence of the Lambs) as Lear, Emma Thompson (The Children Act, The Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility) as Goneril, Emily Watson (The Theory of Everything, Genius) as Regan, Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth, Marcella) as Cordelia and Jim Broadbent (Iris, Game of Thrones) as the Earl of Gloucester.

Set in the fictional present, King Lear begins as the 80-year-old King Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters, Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia, according to their affection for him. Cordelia refuses to flatter him, so he banishes her. Having acquired power, Goneril and Regan expel their father from their homes. At the same time, Lear’s prime minister, Gloucester, is betrayed by his son Edmund and his other son, Edgar, is forced to go into hiding. Lear becomes mad, Gloucester is blinded: both the kingdom and the family collapse into chaos and warfare. Lear and Cordelia are reunited; for a brief moment love reigns, then tragedy descends.

The film for television was commissioned by the BBC and premiered on BBC Two in the UK. Amazon Studios co-produced and will air King Lear in the US, Germany, and UK. It is produced by Playground (Wolf Hall, Howards End, The Dresser) and Sonia Friedman Productions (The Dresser), in association with Lemaise Pictures Limited for BBC Two. The producer is Noëlette Buckley (The Dresser, Wolf Hall). Executive producers are Colin Callender and Scott Huff for Playground, Sonia Friedman for Sonia Friedman Productions, and Lucy Richer for the BBC.