Tom Bateman to join Olivia Cooke in Amazon’s “Vanity Fair” adaptation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tom Bateman will star opposite Olivia Cooke in ITV and Amazon’s upcoming adaptation of “Vanity Fair”, Variety has learned.

Bateman will play Captain Rawdon Crawley, one of two brothers who is at risk of losing his family and fortune through his passion and desire to be with Becky Sharp, played by Cooke. The seven-part series is based on the novel of the same name by William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and follows Sharp as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English Society.

Bateman was recently cast in Kenneth Branagh’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” which is based on the novel by Agatha Christie. He also appeared in the Amy Schumer-Goldie Hawn comedy “Snatched.” On the television side, Bateman played the lead role in ITV’s “Jekyll and Hyde,” and also appeared in the Starz series “Da Vinci’s Demons.”

This is the latest in a long line of adaptations of the classic English novel. The BBC first took it to TV back in the 1950s, returning to it again in the 1960s in a version that also went out on PBS in the U.S. The BBC again adapted it in the 1980s and 1990s. A 2004 movie version starring Reese Witherspoon was a box-office disappointment, grossing just $19 million worldwide.

Gwyneth Hughes will write “Vanity Fair,” with James Strong directing. Julia Stannard will produce. Damien Timmer will executive produce along with Hughes, Strong, and Tom Mullens. Mammoth Screen and Amazon Studios will produce. The series is expected to launch on ITV next year and also be available on Amazon Prime Video.