‘Wolf Hall’ reveals new cast members as Season 2 filming begins
Production has started on Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light!
We found out the very exciting news last month that BBC Two’s award-winning historical drama is returning for a follow-up.
2015’s original Emmy-nominated series adapted Hilary Mantel‘s novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, and now the final novel in Mantel’s trilogy is coming to television as well.
The new season of Wolf Hall is filming right now in England and Wales, reuniting Mark Rylance (Dunkirk, The BFG) and Damian Lewis (Homeland) would be back as Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII.
Other already-confirmed returning cast members include Jonathan Pryce (The Crown) as Cardinal Wolsey, with Kate Phillips (Miss Scarlet and the Duke) returning as Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour, and Lilit Lesser playing Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry and his first wife Catherine of Aragon.
It’s now been revealed that several other original Wolf Hall cast members will also be reprising their roles.
The Artful Dodger star Thomas Brodie-Sangster will be back as Rafe Sadler, alongside Joss Porter (Humans) as Richard Cromwell, James Larkin (McMafia) as Master Treasurer Fitzwilliam, Richard Dillane (Argo) as the Duke of Suffolk, Will Keen (Operation Mincemeat) as Archbishop Cranmer, and Hannah Steele (The Night Manager) as Mary Shelton.
“Casting director Robert Sterne has done a truly extraordinary job assembling the most stunning cast with which I’ve ever had the privilege to work,” commented returning Wolf Hall director Peter Kosminsky.
“Led by Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, they’ve been drawn by the quality of Hilary Mantel’s writing and Peter Straughan’s adroit adaptation,” he added.
“Peter Kosminsky and our brilliant casting director Robert Sterne and his team have brought together a glorious cast with many of the original cast returning alongside some very exciting new faces,” said executive producer Colin Callender.
Amongst these new faces are Harriet Walter (Downton Abbey, Belgravia) playing Lady Margaret Pole, and Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, The Sixth Commandment) as the Duke of Norfolk.
An official casting announcement from the BBC lists a huge number of other actors joining the Wolf Hall ensemble for The Mirror and the Light.
Are you ready? Here goes…
We’ll be seeing Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The Undeclared War) as Bess Oughtred, Lydia Leonard (Gentleman Jack) as Lady Jane Rochford, Charlie Rowe (Vanity Fair) as Gregory Cromwell, Harry Melling (Harry Potter) as Thomas Wriothesley, Corentin Fila (Notre-Dame) as Christophe, Tom Mothersdale (Bodies) as Richard Riche, Karim Kadjar (Leave to Remain) as Eustache Chapuys, Lucy Russell (A Spy Among Friends) as Lady Anne Shelton, Will Tudor (The Ipcress File) as Edward Seymour, Viola Prettejohn (The Crown) as Mary Fitzroy, Thomas Arnold (War & Peace) as Hans Holbein, Jordan Kouamé (Dope Girls) as Martin The Gaoler, Agnes O’Casey (Ridley Road) as Lady Margaret Douglas, Cecilia Appiah (The Chelsea Detective) as Nan Seymour, Ellie de Lange (The Serpent) as Jenneke, Hubert Burton (Living) as Thomas Howard the Lesser, Pip Carter (1917) as Sir Geoffrey Pole, Josef Altin (Game of Thrones) as Thomas Avery, Sarah Priddy (Six Years Gone) as Lady Margery Seymour, Hannah Khalique-Brown (Barbie) as Dorothea, Amir El-Masry (SAS Rogue Heroes) as Thomas Wyatt, German Segal (The Red Ghost) as Olisleger, Summer Richards (Wild Bill) as Catherine Howard, and Dana Herfurth (One Trillion Dollars) as Anne of Cleves.
Wow!
British period drama fans will also recognise Alex Jennings from The Crown and Victoria – he’ll be playing Stephen Gardiner.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will premiere in late 2024 on BBC One and streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK, then on PBS Masterpiece in the US.
“Eagerly awaited and years in the making, Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light will trace the final four years of Cromwell’s life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time,” the show’s synopsis tells us.
The original Wolf Hall series is available to watch on the PBS Masterpiece channel with this free 7-day trial!