Tessa Thompson Stars In Queer Reimagining Of ‘Hedda’ Coming This Fall
Nia DaCosta’s adaptation of ‘Hedda Gabler’ moves the story to 1950s England, centering queerness, race, and desire in a single explosive night.
Featured image: Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson attend the premiere of “Hedda”; photo by Savion Washington/Getty Images
Filmmaker Nia DaCosta’s latest project, Hedda, reimagines Henrik Ibsen’s classic 1890 play Hedda Gabler for a new generation. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last week and will open in select U.S. theaters on October 22 before arriving on Prime Video.
Set in 1950s England, the story unfolds over the course of one night at a lavish party hosted by newlyweds Hedda Tesman (Tessa Thompson) and her husband George (Tom Bateman). While the pair present the image of wealth and stability, their status is precarious, and Hedda is trapped in a marriage that does not reflect her true desires.
Related: Who Is Christy Martin? Meet The Boxing Champion Sydney Sweeney Portrays In ‘Christy’
Tensions rise when George’s academic rival Eileen (Nina Hoss) arrives at the party. Eileen is not only a professional threat to George but also Hedda’s former lover. She is accompanied by her partner Thea (Imogen Poots), with whom she has co-written a book exploring sexuality. Their presence exposes the cracks in Hedda’s carefully constructed life, setting off a night of conflict, jealousy, and self-destruction.
The adaptation shifts Ibsen’s original male character Eilert Lövborg into Eileen, reframing the central relationship around Hedda’s queerness. DaCosta has described this choice as essential to her retelling, using it to explore questions of repression, agency, and desire among women in a society that limits their choices.
Race also plays a role in this version. Hedda is portrayed as a Black woman navigating mid-century English society, where her acceptance is conditional. In an interview with The New York Times, Thompson explained, “We felt like it needed to be a texture, because it would have been at that time, and also because Hedda herself is a woman who has a preoccupation with status.”
Related: Beloved Queer Game ‘Life Is Strange’ Is Officially Becoming A Live-Action Series
DaCosta previously collaborated with Thompson on the 2018 drama Little Woods. According to Thompson, the filmmaker had been “thinking about it and wrestling with it” for years after seeing a production of Hedda that left her underwhelmed.
The release of Hedda adds to DaCosta’s growing body of work following Candyman (2021) and The Marvels (2023). Hedda will be available to stream on Prime Video on October 29.
Check out the trailer below:
