For a while now director Mike Newell has been working on a new version of Great Expectations, and with shooting scheduled to begin on October 10th, the cast has now been confirmed and it's a great selection of British talent. It was already known that War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine would play Pip, with Helena Bonham Carter as the slightly batty Miss Haversham and Ralph Fiennes likely to play the convict Magwitch.
They've been joined by Robbie Coltrane as Jaggers, along with Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting), Jason Flemyng (X-Men: First Class), Sally Hawkins (Happy Go Lucky, Made in Dagenham), Tamzin Outhwaite (Sweet Charity), David Walliams (Little Britain) and Holliday Grainger (The Borgias) as Estella.
It's a superb cast, and hopefully they'll be able to create a worthwhile take on Dicken's classic tale about young orphan Pip who is given a chance to rise from his humble beginnings thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Moving through London’s class ridden world as a gentleman, Pip uses his new found position to pursue the beautiful Estella; a spoilt heiress he’s loved since childhood. Yet the shocking truth behind his great fortune will have devastating consequences for everything he holds dear.
Shooting will go on for 10 weeks, with a releas planned for sometime next year.