Great Expectations will be available on Hulu in the United States on March 26, 2023. The planned production is based on Charles Dickens’ 1861 book of the same name. The first two episodes of the six-part limited series will be released on March 26. According to an announcement made by FX on February 7, the remaining episodes would run weekly on Sundays after the debut.
Fionn Whitehead will play Pip, Olivia Colman will play Miss Havisham, Ashley Thomas will play Jaggers, Johnny Harris will play Magwitch, Shalom Brune-Franklin will play Estella, Hayley Squires will play Sara, Owen McDonnell will play Joe, Trystant Gale will play Compeyson, and Matthew Berry will play Mr. Pumblechuck. Steven Knight wrote and executive produced the program. He is most known for creating scripts for the films Closed Circuit, Dirty Pretty Things, and Eastern Promises, as well as directing Locke and Hummingbird.
What can you anticipate from Hulu’s Great Expectations?
On February 7, the teaser trailer for Great Expectations was released, giving fans their first look at the highly anticipated program. The video showed Fionn Whitehead’s Pip entering a room and being met by Olivia Colman’s scary Miss Havisham. Colman is no stranger to historical pieces, having previously played Queen Anne in The Favourite and Queen Elizabeth in The Crown.
According to Miss Havisham,
“Allow me to see you. What a valuable species we have retrieved from the water.”
From the teaser, it seems like a lot of money was spent on the show’s makeup, costumes, and set design. Along with Marina Brackenbury and the BBC’s Dean Baker, David W. Zucker, Kate Crowe, and Mona Qureshi, Tom Hardy and Ridley Scott will serve as executive producers. FX Productions, the BBC, Scott Free, and Hardy Son & Baker will collaborate on the project.
However, this will not be the first time Great Expectations has been adapted for the big screen. The book was turned into a three-part BBC series in 2011 and a feature film of the same name in 2012. Gillian Anderson played Miss Havisham, Douglas Booth played Pip, and Ray Winstone played Magwitch in the 2011 remake. Ralph Fiennes played Magwitch, Jeremy Irvine played Pip, and Helena Bonham Carter played Miss Havisham in the 2012 film. Steven Knight, the show’s creator, previously developed Peaky Blinders, which featured Cillian Murphy, Sam Neill, Helen McCrory, and Paul Anderson, among others.
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What is the plot of the book Great Expectations?
Great Expectations is Charles Dickens’ twelfth and last completed book, released in 1861. The plot revolves around Pip, an orphan who works as an apprentice for a blacksmith in a rural community. His head is full of hopes and expectations, and his luck unexpectedly transports him to London, where he joins high society but rapidly becomes entangled in a dark world of possibilities after meeting Miss Havisham.
According to Goodreads, the novel’s summary is as follows:
“Great Expectations follows Pip from childhood to adulthood as he moves from the Kent marshes to busy, commercial London, encountering a variety of extraordinary characters ranging from Magwitch, the escaped convict, to Miss Havisham, who is locked up with her unhappy past and living with her ward, the arrogant, beautiful Estella.”
Pip must learn about himself, his desires and needs, and what makes him happy.
