BBC1 and Netflix are teaming up to adapt Richard Adams’ classic novel Watership Down, which tales the story of a group of rabbits fleeing human violence and the impending destruction of their home.
Here’s everything you need to about the show and its starry cast, including James McAvoy, John Boyega, Nicholas Hoult and Olivia Colman.
When is Watership Down on TV?
The four-part animated mini-series has been confirmed for Christmas 2018. The series will air on BBC1 in the UK, and be released on Netflix for international viewers.
What’s the story about?
Watership Down is set in rural England and tells the story of a group of rabbits that escape their warren after Fiver (Nicholas Hoult), a seer, is haunted by visions foreseeing their home’s destruction.
The group, led by Fiver’s brother, Hazel (James McAvoy), sets out on a treacherous journey towards a promised refuge: Watership Down.
Matthew Read, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor, says, “Before there was Harry Potter there was Watership Down; Richard Adams’ novel is one of the most successful books of all time and one of the biggest selling books in history.
“It is fantastic to have the opportunity to bring a modern classic to a mainstream BBC1 audience with such an incredible roster of actors alongside the talented team overseeing the animation.”
Who’s in the cast?
The new adaptation boasts a seriously starry voice cast for the CGI animated rabbits.
In addition to X-Men’s Nicholas Hoult and James McAvoy as Fiver and Hazel, the cast includes: Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island, Iron Man 3) as General Woundwort, John Boyega (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Attack The Block) as Bigwig, Gemma Arterton (Made In Dagenham) as Clover, Miles Jupp (Rev, The Thick Of It) as Blackberry, Freddie Fox (Pride) as Captain Holly, Olivia Colman (The Night Manager, The Lobster) as Strawberry, and Anne-Marie Duff (Suffragette) as Hyzenthlay.
He joins a number of new additions including Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya, Rosamund Pike, Taron Egerton, Mackenzie Crook, Gemma Chan and Jason Watkins.
Will this series be as scary as the film?
The 1978 film, starring John Hurt, is notorious for its haunting scenes of graphic violence, which sees beloved bunny characters mercilessly killed-off — traumatising a generation of children in the process.
However, the BBC1 series’ executive producer told The Telegraph, “will not just tone down the levels of on-screen violence to make it more appropriate for children, but give a boost to its female characters.”
Olivia Colman’s character, Strawberry, was originally a buck, or male rabbit, in Adams’ original novel.
