‘Hamlet’ Trailer – Riz Ahmed Stars in Aneil Karia’s Bold Modern Take on Shakespeare’s Classic

Here is the official trailer for Hamlet, director Aneil Karia’s contemporary reimagining of William Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy starring Riz Ahmed in the title role.

Also starring in the film are Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn, Sheeba Chaddha, Avijit Dutt, Art Malik, and Timothy Spall, placing the existential epic in the heart of modern-day London’s elite South Asian milieu.

Karia collaborates again with writer Michael Lesslie to adapt the centuries-old text into a visceral, urgent narrative that bridges Shakespeare’s poetic language with today’s realities.

Hamlet had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival, followed by the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where it screened as part of the festival’s Centrepiece selections.

It is now gearing up for its U.S. theatrical release on April 10, 2026, via Vertical, following its U.K. launch earlier in February.

Here is the official synopsis of Hamlet: In this contemporary London adaptation of Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy, Prince Hamlet must navigate grief, betrayal, and moral uncertainty after the sudden death of his father. Returning home from abroad, Hamlet is shocked to learn that his uncle Claudius will now marry his widowed mother, Gertrude. When the ghost of his father reveals that Claudius murdered him, Hamlet’s world spirals into a morally complex quest for truth, justice, and vengeance. Set amid the opulence and corruption of a powerful British South Asian family, this modern retelling brings Shakespeare’s poetic exploration of revenge, identity, and conscience into a 21st-century context.

In interviews around the film’s festival run, star Riz Ahmed mentioned that he became fascinated with Hamlet as a teenager and wanted to bring its deep emotional and philosophical questions into a contemporary frame that resonates with today’s viewers. He said, “I remember we were always taught that it was about suicide and about feeling that you can’t go on in life. At least in my view, it’s not saying that. It’s saying, should we suffer injustice and just go along with it? Or should we fight back even if we know it’ll kill us? Which is a really, really different idea.”

In a review from Time Out, the film is praised for its “fearlessly cinematic” approach, and highlights Riz Ahmed’s performance, writing, “Ahmed is agonisingly intense as a Hamlet who is a mess from the beginning. When he says ‘I have of late lost all my mirth’, he seems to be discussing a malaise that stretches back way beyond the events of the film.”

Watch the official trailer for Hamlet, above.