Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' Reimagines Shakespeare Through Grief and the Globe Theatre

Chloé Zhao's film 'Hamnet,' an adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel 'Nel nome del figlio,' premieres in Italian cinemas on February 5, 2026, distributed by Universal Pictures. The film stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as Agnes, centering on their love story in 1580s England and the tragedy that inspired 'Hamlet.' Zhao roots the narrative in the Globe Theatre, depicted as a living organism that transforms personal loss into universal art. The novel won the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Women's Prize for Fiction, and was named among the top five fiction works of 2020 by the New York Times Book Review. The film adopts a radically feminine and intimate perspective, subverting the traditional Shakespearean myth.