Chloe Zhao’s film adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival before opening at cinemas in the UK next year.
A teaser trailer has now been released for the upcoming film adaptation of Hamnet based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel (our review can be found here), which will have a limited release in the US on 27 November 2025 and in the UK on the 9th January 2026.
This film adaptation of the best-selling book has been co-written by Zhao and O’Farrell and centres on the story of Agnes and William Shakespeare, whose loss of their son Hamnet impacts on their marriage and Shakespeare’s writing.
Hamnet is set to star Jessie Buckley as Agnes Shakespeare and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare. The cast also features Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet, Joe Alwyn as Bartholomew and Emily Watson as Mary Shakespeare.
The film also features music by Max Richter and cinematography by Łukasz Żal. It is produced by Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes and Nicolas Gonda for Neal Street Productions.
Maggie O’Farrell’s novel has been also adapted for the stage, with a production previously running at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the West End in 2023.