King Lear is on the way… twice on the big screen, and then on the BBC. With Anthony Hopkins, and Ian McKellen, as Lear And Keira Knightley, and Romola Garai, as Cordelia. But who will direct? Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Anthony Hopkins Ian McKellen Keira Knightley King Lear Romola Garai Shakespeare Related McSweeney's Publishes a Letter to AslanAn Honor for Over the Rhine
The obvious choice to direct would be Kenneth Branagh. Perhaps too obvious.
A less obvious but rather interesting choice would be Atonement helmer Joe Wright, who would probably keep the proceedings from getting stale and heavy-handed. The drawback is that he might just be too young to handle a story in which old age is a central theme.
Milos Forman is certainly mature enough, and he has a knack for emotional, character-driven stories…but if the film is to include any epic battle sequences, I’m not sure he would be up to the task.
Martin Scorsese would be aces, but he’s really busy, and I want to see him finally make Silence.
I could do this all day…Neil Jordan, Michael Caton-Jones, John Boorman, Kevin Reynolds, William Friedkin, Danny Boyle, Jonathan Demme, Peter Weir and John Milius would all be intriguing choices. But there can only be one.
The next most important question, of course, is obvious…who will play The Fool?
One more I thought of…Mel Gibson. Yes, I know it would never happen, and yes, I know you have issues with the guy, but come on…this is a story where a dude plucks another dude’s eyes out with his bare fingers. Mad Mel would be perfect.