Tessa Thompson to Lead ‘Hedda,’ Nia DaCosta’s Reimagining of ‘Hedda Gabler’ for MGM’s Orion, Plan B (Exclusive)

Fresh from her appearance in box office boxing smash hit Creed III ($265 million and counting), Tessa Thompson has been cast as a character considered one of the greatest dramatic roles in theater history.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Thompson is set to play Hedda Gabler in Nia DaCosta’s upcoming film Hedda for MGM’s Orion Pictures and Plan B.

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Written and directed by Nia DaCosta — coming off both the success of 2021’s Candyman and her upcoming MCU debut The Marvels (the first trailer for which recently landed) — the feature is billed as an epic and visceral reimagination of Henrik Ibsen’s famed 1891 stage play, and reunites the filmmaker with Thompson after she starred in the director’s critically acclaimed 2018 debut feature Little Woods.

Producers on Hedda are Plan B, DaCosta, Gabrielle Nadig (who produced Little Woods) and Thompson, who produces via her own Viva Maude label, launched in 2020. Executive producers are Kishori Rajan for Viva Maude and Michael Constable.

Hedda Gabler has seen numerous screen adaptations over the years. Ingrid Bergman was among the stars of a BBC production screened on TV in 1962, while Trevor Nunn’s 1975 adaptation — also entitled Hedda — would earn Glenda Jackson an Academy Award nomination for leading actress.

The project marks the latest major role for Thompson, who has become a hugely in-demand — and bankable — name. Alongside her appearances as Valkyrie in Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder (and, briefly, Avengers: Endgame) and as Bianca alongside Michael B. Jordan in the three Creed movies for MGM, she earned huge acclaim, and a BAFTA nomination, for her turn in 2021’s period drama Passing. On the TV front, she starred in all four seasons of HBO’s Westworld. She’s repped by WME, Mosaic, Jeff Bernstein at Jackoway Austen Tyerman and Shelter PR.

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