Mantel's‘Wolf Hall,' With Stars Rylance And Lewis, Returns To PBS

Forbes

24-03-2025

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 04: (L to R) Joss Porter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kate Phillips, Damian Lewis, Will Tudor and Charlie Rowe attend a photocall for "Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light" at BFI Southbank on November 4, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Academy Award winner Mark Rylance is returning in his BAFTA-winning role of Thomas Cromwell, with Emmy Award winner Damian Lewis returning as King Henry VIII, alongside Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey, Kate Phillips as Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, and Lilit Lesser as Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
New cast members are Harriet Walter as Lady Margaret Pole and Timothy Spall as the Duke of Norfolk
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light traces the final four years of Cromwell's life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time. Masterpiece described Cromwell 'as complex as he is unforgettable: a politician and a fixer, a diplomat and a father, a man who both defied and defined his age.'
Series director Peter Kosminsky said, 'The Mirror and the Light picks up exactly where Wolf Hall ended, with the execution of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn. I'm overjoyed to be able to reunite the extraordinary cast we were lucky enough to assemble for Wolf Hall, led by the brilliant Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, with the original creative team of Gavin Finney (director of photography), Pat Campbell (designer) and Joanna Eatwell (costume designer). We are all determined to complete what we started, and to honor the final novel written by one of the greatest literary figures of our age, Hilary Mantel.'
Colin Callender, CEO of Playground Entertainment, a producer of the series, said, 'Following the success of the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning original television adaptation of the first two books in Hilary Mantel's acclaimed Wolf Hall trilogy, we are thrilled and honored that, nine years later, we have been able reunite Peter Kosminsky and his brilliant team, in front of and behind the camera, to bring Thomas Cromwell 's final chapter to the screen. Intimate, thrilling, and deeply moving, The Mirror and the Light shines a fresh light on the politics of power and the personal price paid by those who wield it. Cromwell's story is as contemporary as ever, a story of loyalty and betrayal that just happens to be about people 500 years ago.'
In an interview with Forbes.com, Callendar said Kosminsky had collected 'extensive notes' from conversations he had with Mantel about the new series before her death in 2022.
'We are honoring her approach to the story,' he explained.
He said the sequel was shot entirely on location, in various Tudor castles and stately homes all over England, where the sequel's story actually really took place.
He said the sequel 'is really about a man who's looking back at the decisions he's made, assessing the things he thinks he did right and things he may have done wrong. It's a story that everyone can relate to. It's about where is your life going? That's the sort of emotional journey everyone of us goes through at some point in our lives.'