The teaser trailer for Focus Features’ eagerly-awaited Hamnet, from the Oscar-winning director of Nomadland, Chloé Zhao, has debuted online. In addition to directing, Zhao co-wrote the screenplay for Hamnet with Maggie O’Farrell, the author of the acclaimed novel of the same name, upon which the movie is based.
Hamnet is a fictionalization of the lives of William Shakespeare and his family, focusing on his and his wife Agnes’ grief after their son Hamnet’s death, which inspires the bard to write his magnum opus, Hamlet. Oscar-nominated stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley are playing William and Agnes, respectively; Hamnet also stars Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn.
Moreover, Hamnet is produced by Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, further indicating high hopes for the movie’s reception in the coming months, at a time when many awards season hopefuls will be hitting theaters. Hamnet will have a limited theatrical release on November 27 and a wider release on December 12; check out the first trailer below:
What This Means For Hamnet
Early images from Hamnet and other teasers have garnered attention, understandably so, given the immense talent behind and in front of the camera and the immortal mythos of William Shakespeare. With the vague but ethereal and emotional trailer now out, the true marketing campaign begins, building anticipation for the Thanksgiving release.
The Hamnet trailer highlights how this will be a story about family and loss; while it may not be strictly accurate to the Shakespeares’ actual lives, it delves into these universal themes. An ever-intriguing genre niche is new takes on classic tales and the people who created them, which contributed to O’Farrell’s novel’s success when it was published in 2020.
However, those who are unfamiliar with the book might not perceive the central plot from this initial teaser; a future trailer will likely showcase more. Yet this early advertisement is still a touching sequence, and conveys emotions that must have been real surrounding the real Hamnet’s death at a young age, and will prompt people to want to learn more.
Our Take On Hamnet’s Teaser Trailer
This development could not be more exciting for Shakespeare fans, or fans of essentially anyone involved with this project. Mescal and Buckley are fantastic stars in need of their next big movie, when Gladiator II didn’t end up being Mescal’s pathway to an Oscar, and Buckley has only been in mixed-reviews movies since Women Talking.
In this teaser trailer, the actors become these new versions of the famous historical figures, and all their happy and painful experiences. Meanwhile, I think that Zhao is a great director but that she could benefit from working with another screenwriter, so I’m very excited to see what she and O’Farrell come up with for Hamnet, which has a clear path to being a huge critical success.
