Ralph Fiennes Set to Portray Miss Trunchbull in Screen Adaptation of “Matilda the Musical”
Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort) is set to play the dastardly character of Miss Trunchbull in the upcoming screen adaptation of Matilda the Musical, which is based on the popular children’s book Matilda written by Roald Dahl.
The Daily Mail reported Fiennes’s confirmed involvement in the theater-to-screen adaptation last week.
This wouldn’t be the first time a Harry Potter actor has starred as the antagonist. Pam Ferris, who portrayed Aunt Marge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, iconically played the role of Trunchbull in TriStar Pictures’ 1996 film adaptation.
The upcoming Netflix and Working Title film will be based upon the hugely successful West End production of Matilda the Musical with the theater show’s original director, Matthew Warchus, involved in the project.
Matilda the Musical has had quite an impressive run in London’s West End, with the show running every year since 2011. The show’s Broadway debut also went down a storm and ran from 2013 to 2017.
Dennis Kelly is writing the screenplay for the Netflix film, something he’ll be entirely trusted with since he won a Tony for adapting Matilda from book to stage.
Sony will distribute the film theatrically in the United Kingdom, and once we know a release date, we will be sure to let you know.
No other casting details have been released at this point, although Killing Eve‘s Jodie Comer has been rumored to play the kind and caring Miss Honey in the adaptation. However, Deadline reports that there is no word on this so far.
Matilda has always been popular with young readers and adults alike. The main premise of the story sees an intelligent young girl with terrible parents discover she has magical powers when she comes up against the worst principal in the world – Miss Trunchbull.
Matilda is not the only Dahl book that Netflix has its eyes upon. The streaming giant has previously announced plans to adapt the whole catalog of Dahl’s children’s stories into animated films and series.
You can see Fiennes in the upcoming film The King’s Man this September, which will be the third film in the Kingsman franchise. Fiennes recently described the movie as “very different territory [from that of] the other two movies.”
We can’t wait to see Fiennes as Trunchbull. We’re not sure whether it’ll be an amusing or frightening portrayal, but we best not repeat that since we wouldn’t want to find ourselves in the Chokey!