Riz Ahmed's 'Hamlet' Finally Lands Distribution Deal

It was only a couple of days ago that we discussed how hard it is to determine which projects that come to the Cannes market will be made and which ones are just fantasy packages in search of a funder. Those that already exist as finished projects have a leg up; after all, they exist; someone just needs to agree to put up the money to get them into theaters — and sometimes existing is what makes the difference. Take, for example, Riz Ahmed's Hamlet project, a "Cannes Market Hot Package" in 2022, an idea on paper, with Ahmed set to lead. Morfydd Clark (then still only a BAFTA Rising Star nominee), who was attached to co-star and Taylor Swift's then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, was also said to be interested.

At the time, the project didn't move the needle, and the Hamlet film disappeared from the trades; only Ahmed kept it alive, bringing it up in interviews whenever he could. Two years later, the film is a completed piece. Variety is reporting it's finally got a distributor who will be releasing it globally in the NBC Universal indie arm Focus Features, which most Anglophiles know as the studio that does the Downton Abbey films.

According to Variety, the new adaptation of Shakespeare, directed by Aneil Karia, wrapped filming towards the end of 2023, and Focus Features boarded the project sometime between then and now. However, the company only announced its involvement this week to coincide with Cannes, suggesting that the plan is to make an awards run with it for the 2024 fall season.