Noomi Rapace, who shot to global prominence as Lisbeth Salander in the “Millennium” trilogy, will lead the cast of acclaimed “Border” director Ali Abbasi’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
Swedish-Danish-Iranian filmmaker Abbasi made his feature debut in 2018 with “Shelley,” which was selected for the Panorama competition at the Berlin Film Festival. “Border” won Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival the same year.
The “Hamlet” adaptation will reunite Abbasi with “Border” producers, Denmark’s Meta Film. Iceland’s Sjón is writing the project, with Stine Meldgaard Madsen producing for Meta Film. The film will be produced in collaboration with Boom Films, with principal photography scheduled for fall 2021.
Rapace said, “’Hamlet’ is a dream project in its purest and most explosive way. I’ve been hoping, dreaming, wishing for this as long as I’ve been an actress.
“I base this as much on the material as on the creative alliance that surrounds it,” she continued. “Ali, Sjón and Meta are for me creatives on the highest level. They’re truly brave and groundbreaking in their different areas and always on top of their game. To take on a Danish story with a Scandinavian touch and bring it out into the world with this group of people is a dream.”
“Shakespeare stole the ‘Hamlet’ story from us,” said Abbasi. “Now it’s our turn to claim it back and make a version so insane and so bloody that it makes him turn in his grave. Let’s make ‘Hamlet’ great again!”
Rapace’s credits include “Prometheus,” “Alien: Covenant,” “The Drop” and “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”
Sjón is one of Iceland’s most renowned novelists and poets, and was Oscar-nominated in 2001 for best song with Lars von Trier’s “Dancer In The Dark.” His credits as scriptwriter include Robert Eggers’ “The Northman,” and he has also collaborated with Rapace on the forthcoming Icelandic feature “Lamb.”