Focus Features has dropped the full trailer for Hamnet, the upcoming film directed by Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao, featuring an evocative score by Max Richter. With a powerhouse cast led by Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson, Jacobi Jupe, Jack Shalloo, and David Wilmot, the film promises an intimate, humanizing portrait of the world’s most famous writer.
Set in 16th-century England, Hamnet draws on the historical fact that the names Hamlet and Hamnet were once interchangeable, using this detail as the lens for a deeply emotional exploration of William Shakespeare’s family life. Rather than focusing purely on The Bard—portrayed compellingly by Paul Mescal—the story centers on Agnes, Shakespeare’s perceptive and resilient wife, played with remarkable presence by Jessie Buckley. Her warmth and quiet strength anchor the film’s narrative, which unfolds around the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet.
Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel, Zhao’s adaptation challenges the tendency of historical accounts to treat child mortality in the 16th century as a distant statistic. Instead, it insists on the universality and permanence of the grief, showing how this shattering loss influenced Shakespeare’s work, particularly Hamlet. In Zhao’s hands, Shakespeare emerges not merely as a celebrated playwright but as a grieving father whose art resonated with personal loss.
Co-written by Maggie O’Farrell and Chloé Zhao, Hamnet blends literary history with raw human emotion, aiming to reframe one of the Western canon’s most iconic tragedies. With its December release, audiences can expect a moving, contemplative film that invites a fresh understanding of Shakespeare’s genius and the heartbreak that shaped it.
Check Out The Trailer:-