Golden Globe winner Tom Hiddleston has joined Apple TV+’s limited drama series The Essex Serpent, according to Variety. Hiddleston will star alongside Emmy and Golden Globe winner Claire Danes in the series adaptation. The Essex Serpent is based on the period novel of the same name written by Sarah Perry. Danes, who plays the lead character in the series, replaced Keira Knightley in the project in February after Knightley left the role due to child care concerns caused by the ongoing pandemic.
Hiddleston will play Will Ransome, the trusted leader of a small rural community. Best known for playing Loki in the MCU, Hiddleston will be reprising his Marvel character in Disney+’s upcoming Loki series. His credits also include The Night Manager, Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok, Kong: Skull Island, and Crimson Peak.
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Published in 2016 by Serpent’s Tail, The Essex Serpent follows the story of a newly widowed named Cora Seaborne (Danes) who, after the death of her abusive husband, managed to relocate from Victorian London to the small village of Aldwinter in Essex. After arriving in her new town, she immediately gets intrigued by the village’s local superstition that a mythical creature known as the Essex Serpent has returned to the area.
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The series adaptation will be directed by Clio Barnard (Dark River) from a screenplay written by Anna Symon (Mrs. Wilson). It will be executive produced by Barnard, Symon, Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Patrick Walters, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman with Andrea Cornwell set as a producer.
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The series will be Danes’ latest major TV project following her leading performance in the acclaimed political thriller Homeland which concluded its 8-season run last year. Her other notable works include My So-Called Life, which gave Danes her first Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a TV Series Drama, and Temple Grandin, which won her an Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Limited Series.
(Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
