Eddie Izzard will transform into a horror icon in Doctor Jekyll.
Eddie Izzard will transform into a horror icon in Doctor Jekyll.
Revealed by FangoriaIn the Doctor Jekyll poster (courtesy of Creepy Duck Design), Izzard becomes Dr. Nina Jekyll, a transgender character based on the protagonist of the novella The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis from 1886.
Doctor Jekyll is directed by Joe Stephenson, who also produced the film alongside Guy de Beaujeu and Liam Coutts. The screenplay was written by Dan Kelly-Mulhern and Christian Angermayer served as executive producer. Alongside Izzard, Doctor Jekyll stars Lindsay Duncan, Jonathan Hyde and Simon Callow.
“There have been over 100 film adaptations of Stevenson’s novel, but there has never been a transsexual Dr. Jekyll,” Stephenson told Fangoria. “There seems to be some assumptions that because Nina is a transgender character, we’ll somehow manage to accommodate gender. That’s not the case; The themes of our film are faithful to the original work.”
dr Jekyll Through the Years: From John Barrymore to Russell Crowe
Countless actors have played Jekyll/Hyde over the years. One of the first was John Barrymore in a silent film adaptation of the novel. Other notable examples include Fredric March in a 1931 adaptation, Spencer Tracy in a 1941 adaptation, and Ralph Bates in Hammer Horror’s Dr. Jekyll and sister Hyde from 1971.
Russell Crowe also played the character opposite Tom Cruise in 2017’s The Mummy. Crowe was originally slated to reprise the role in subsequent episodes of Universal’s Dark Universe; However, plans to make additional Dark Universe films starring fan-favorite Universal monsters were scrapped after The Mummy was a box office hit.
Doctor Jekyll will premiere at FrightFest in August 2023. The film does not yet have a wider release date.