Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is the gift that keeps on giving—which is to say, it keeps inspiring new adaptations. Last fall, Peacock announced Hide, a “Jekyll & Hyde tale by way of a conspiracy thriller” set to star David and Georgia Tennant. And now, Eddie Izzard is stepping into the good doctor’s role—as Dr. Nina Jekyll in a film adaptation, Doctor Jekyll.
Doctor Jekyll comes from director Joe Stephenson (McKellen: Playing the Part) and first-time screenwriter Dan Kelly-Mulhern. Variety explains, “The film follows the reclusive Nina Jekyll finding friendship with her newly hired help, Rob, played by emerging actor Scott Chambers (Chicken) who must work together to prevent Hyde from destroying her life.”
That’s not a lot to go on in terms of how Stephenson and Kelly-Mulhern will interpret Stevenson’s work. The director said in a statement, “I’m thrilled that Eddie is joining us as my Nina Jekyll. With her being the extraordinary and versatile actress she is, playing against Scott’s natural talent to make us believe in the good in people, I can’t wait to bring this suspenseful take on the iconic classic to life.”
Izzard’s most recent roles have been in the drama series Stay Close and The Last Symbol; memorably, she played Dr. Abel Gideon in Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal (pictured above). If both Doctor Jekyll and Hide make it to our screens, it’ll be fascinating to see Izzard and Tennant’s different takes on the characters.
No release date has been announced.
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