Anthony Hopkins and Charlotte Rampling will play Charles and Emma Darwin in a new period drama from The Other Boleyn Girl director Justin Chadwick.
Written by Jacob Killion and set against the backdrop of Victorian England, The Species will also star Tom Hollander as publisher Marshall Winwick, with Billy Howle portraying Charles and Emma’s son, George.
The film is set to focus on Emma, surrounded by memories of visionary scientist and her late husband, Charles, at their estate Down House. “Whilst on a late life journey of self-discovery since recently being made a widow, she finds herself locked in a battle with her son George and pushy publisher Marshall Winwick over Charles’ autobiography,” a plot synopsis reads. “It presents a challenge to her faith: will the publication of her almost heretically atheist husband’s work jeopardise his safe passage to heaven and their chance to be reunited in the afterlife? Emma’s steely will and playful humour prove more than a match for Winwick, and by confronting her son she banishes old hurts and ultimately brings them closer together.”
“Throughout it all she finds an unexpected ally in her husband’s spirit who appears to her in moments through the story, their laughter and lively debate affording an intimate window into a lasting and hopefully eternal marriage.”
HanWay Films is launching international sales on The Species at AFM. The film is produced by Christian Taylor of Taylor Lane Productions, who originated and developed the project, along with Mary Aloe of Aloe Entertainment and Joshua Harris of Peachtree Media Group. UTA Independent Talent Group reps domestic sales.
Production is scheduled to begin in June 2026 in Northern Ireland. Cinematography will be by Adolpho Veloso (Train Dreams). Eyde Belasco is casting.
“I am excited to make a film with two truly brilliant actors that can catch the complex realities and themes that are in play in this piece,” said Chadwick, who also made Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and the BBC’s Emmy-winning Bleak House. “Charlotte and Anthony are nuanced and skilled actors at the heart of a film that deals unflinchingly with love, grief and death and a deep relationship that transcends space and time.”
