Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, based on the final novel in Hilary Mantel's award-winning trilogy (Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies), will begin filming shortly, according to Masterpiece PBS and the BBC. Reuniting the creative team from the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning first series, the project will be directed by Peter Kosminsky (The Undeclared War, The State) and adapted for TV by Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Frank). Playground (All Creatures Great and Small, The Undeclared War) and Company Pictures (Van Der Valk, Blood) are producing.
Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis will reprise their roles as Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII, respectively. The cast also includes Jonathan Pryce (Cardinal Wolsey), Kate Phillips (Jane Seymour), and Lilit Lesser (Princess Mary). Other returning and new cast members will be announced at a later date.
"The Mirror and the Light picks up exactly where Wolf Hall ended, with the execution of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn," said Kosminsky. "I'm overjoyed to be able to reunite the extraordinary cast we were lucky enough to assemble for Wolf Hall, led by the brilliant Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, with the original creative team of Gavin Finney (DOP), Pat Campbell (designer) and Joanna Eatwell (costume designer). We are all determined to complete what we started--and to honor the final novel written by one of the greatest literary figures of our age, Hilary Mantel."
Colin Callender, CEO of Playground, added: "Following the success of the BAFTA and Golden Globe winning original television adaptation of the first two books in Hilary Mantel's acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy, we are thrilled and honored that, nine years later, we have been able re-unite Peter Kosminsky and his brilliant team, in front of and behind the camera, to bring Thomas Cromwell's final chapter to the screen. Intimate, thrilling, and deeply moving, The Mirror and the Light shines a fresh light on the politics of power and the personal price paid by those who wield it. Cromwell's story is as contemporary as ever--a story of loyalty and betrayal that just happens to be about people 500 years ago."
Susanne Simpson, executive producer of Masterpiece, commented: "I am incredibly proud to bring Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light to Masterpiece and the American audience. It is thrilling that such brilliant actors as Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis will reprise their roles for this final chapter of Thomas Cromwell's story. The level of excellence on and off screen for this series is incomparable." Masterpiece is presented on PBS by GBH Boston.