The newly reestablished Hammer Studios has acquired U.K. rights for B Good Picture Company’s “Doctor Jekyll.”
In Nov. 2021, the U.K.’s Network Distributing sealed a deal with iconic British horror label Hammer Films to form Hammer Studios Ltd. “Doctor Jekyll,” directed by Joe Stephenson and currently shooting in the U.K., will be the first film to be released by the newly formed studio.
In the film, a modern interpretation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic 1886 novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde,” Eddie Izzard plays Dr. Nina Jekyll, a recluse who finds friendship with her newly hired help, Rob, played by emerging actor Scott Chambers (“Chicken”) and they must work together to prevent Hyde from destroying her life. The screenplay is by first time writer Dan Kelly-Mulhern.
Hammer Studios managing director, Tim Beddows, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Joe and his superlative cast and crew on ‘Doctor Jekyll.’ There can be few subjects more apt to launch Hammer Studios and the production has everything you’d expect of a modern Hammer film.”
Stephenson added: “It’s an honor to partner this way with the new Hammer Studios, in doing so Doctor Jekyll becomes both part of a legendary legacy and the start of an exciting future for U.K. genre filmmaking.”
The film is produced in association with Fluidity Films (“Journey’s End”). Stephenson produces with Guy de Beaujeu (“The Laureate”) with Liam Coutts (“The Good Drug”) associate producing. Christian Angermayer (“Army of Thieves”) serves as executive producer.
Metro International Entertainment is handling global sales.
Hammer Studios manages and controls a vast library of content including “The Woman in Black” (2012), “Let Me In” (2010), “Dracula” (1958), “The Abominable Snowman” (1957) and “The Quatermass Experiment” (1953). It is investing substantially both in restoration and new production development from both its owned and newly created IP.