The anticipation surrounding Joss Whedon’s upcoming Much Ado About Nothing is incredibly well deserved. The director has committed to film the best adaptation of Shakespeare’s work to date, and its June release date can’t come fast enough.
I was fortunate enough to be at its world premiere at TIFF last September – you can read our five-star review here – and have been eagerly awaiting its theatrical release ever since.
The brilliant first trailer finally arrived last month. And with its release less than two months away, EW have debuted the new US poster, following on from the first official poster we saw late last year.
Leonato (Clark Gregg), the governor of Messina, is visited by his friend Don Pedro (Reed Diamond), who is returning from a victorious campaign against his rebellious brother Don John (Sean Maher). Accompanying Don Pedro are two of his officers: Benedick (Alexis Denisof) and Claudio (Fran Kranz). While in Messina, Claudio falls for Leonato’s daughter Hero (Jillian Morgese), and Benedick verbally spars with Beatrice (Amy Acker), the governor’s niece. The budding love between Claudio and Hero prompts Don Pedro to arrange, with Leonato, their marriage.
In the days leading up to the ceremony, Don Pedro, with the help of Leonato, Claudio and Hero, attempts to sport with Benedick and Beatrice in an effort to trick the two into falling in love. Meanwhile, the villainous Don John, with the help of his allies Conrade (Riki Lindhome) and Borachio (Spencer Treat Clark), plots against the happy couple, using his own form of trickery to try to destroy the marriage before it begins. A series of comic and tragic events may continue to keep the two couples from truly finding happiness, but then again perhaps love may prevail.
Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker star in the leads as Benedick and Beatrice. Starring alongside them is a slew of Whedon’s frequent collaborators, led by Fran Kranz, Clark Gregg, Sean Maher, Jillian Morgese, Ashley Johnson, Tom Lenk, Reed Diamond, Emma Bates, and the ever-brilliant Nathan Fillion.
Whedon is directing from his own script, using the original text from Shakespeare and updating it to a contemporary setting.
Much Ado About Nothing will begin its limited release in the US on June 7th, before opening wide on June 21st. Its UK release date falls in between on 14th June, and I can’t recommend enough how much you need to see this film. It is by far one of my favourite films of the year. Scratch that: One of my favourite films of all time.
