The new onesheet for the upcoming Julie Taymor-directed The Tempest is over at Yahoo! Movies. The Shakespearean tale stars Helen Mirren, David Strathairn, Djimon Hounsou, Alan Cumming, Alfred Molina, Chris Cooper, Ben Whishaw and Felicity Jones. Mirren will be doing some gender reassignment in the role of Prospera (originally Prospero), a sorceress who is exiled to an island with her daughter, Miranda, after her brother-in-law usurps her husband’s throne.
In the original tale, Prospero was the Duke of Milan before losing his title. He eventually gets the chance for revenge by stirring up a magical storm. In this new version, Prospera is the wife of the Duke who accused of witchcraft by the Duke’s brother (Chris Cooper), which leads to the exile. “She had her whole life taken away from her because she was a woman,”
Taymor says. Prospera, a woman scorned, wants to save her daughter from
the same fate. (via USA Today)
Taymor previously adapted another Shakespeare tale with 1999’s Titus. The Tempest opens on December 10th.
