Oscar-winning filmaker, Chloé Zhao (Fe. 1998-00) is also writing the screenplay with O'Farrell who was delighted: "When Chloé came into the picture I was so astonished because I really revere her as a director. She’s so brilliant and has such an intuitive and passionate way of approaching film."
No release date has yet been announced for the film, which has been delayed due to observing the WGA strikes.
Hamnet, released in March 2020, focuses on the life of William Shakespeare from his wife's perspective and whilst living under the cloud of the bubonic plague. The novel won the Women's Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and was also chosen as Waterstones' Book Of The Year in 2020.