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Based on Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 fictional novel of the same name, Hamnet is a historical drama film directed and co-edited by Chloé Zhao with a screenplay from O'Farrell.
Premiered at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival on 29 August 2025, the film will be released for a limited theatrical run on November 26, 2025, before its wider release on December 12, 2025, in the US.
Featuring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal in the lead roles as Agnes and William, the film chronicles the complex and passionate marriage between the young Latin tutor William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes Hathaway.
The plot follows their life after the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet, and Shakespeare's subsequent inspiration to write Hamlet, the longest play he ever wrote.
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Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal to lead Chloé Zhao's adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet
Actress Jessie Buckley portrays Agnes Hathaway, William Shakespeare’s wife, in the screen adaptation of Chloé Zhao's Hamnet.
The Irish actress is widely known for her BAFTA-nominated performance as Rose-Lynn Harlan in the musical drama film Wild Rose (2018) and acclaimed role in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 2021 drama, The Lost Daughter.
Buckley also appeared in the 2019 historical drama miniseries Chernobyl as Lyudmilla Ignatenko. She is also set to feature in the lead role in the upcoming monster film The Bride!, which is scheduled for release on March 6, 2026.
Paul Mescal plays William Shakespeare, not as an icon, but as a passionate, flawed young man and a grieving father in the film adaptation of Hamnet.
Mescal gained fame for his performance in the 2020 Hulu miniseries Normal People as Connell Waldron, a role which earned him a BAFTA nomination and a career breakthrough. More recently, he appeared in Ridley Scott's Gladiator II, featuring as Lucius Verus Aurelius in the film.
The Irish actor also has several high-profile upcoming projects, including the musical adaptation Merrily We Roll Along and playing Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes’ The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event.
Hamnet trailer: first look at Maggie O'Farrell's novel adaptation and more details about the novel
The film is based on the award-winning 2020 novel by Irish-British author Maggie O’Farrell. It is a fictionalized account built upon the scant historical facts concerning William Shakespeare’s family life.
It centers primarily on his wife, Agnes Hathaway (historically known as Anne, but Agnes was the name used by her father), who is portrayed as an intuitive, nature-connected woman. The plot revolves around the couple’s passionate, yet often distant, marriage, defined by William's growing success in London and Agnes's life in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The central tragedy is the death of their 11-year-old son in 1596, imagined by O’Farrell as being caused by the bubonic plague. The book traces the emotional fallout of this loss, exploring the different ways Agnes and William process their grief.
William, who is referred to only as "the husband" throughout much of the book, channels his sorrow into his art, eventually writing his timeless tragedy, Hamlet, which is believed to have been inspired by his son’s name.
Stay tuned for more updates.
