Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson lead all-star King Lear cast

Sir Anthony Hopkins will play King Lear, with Emma Thompson as daughter Goneril

Reuters/Getty Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson — Sir Anthony Hopkins will play King Lear, with Emma Thompson as daughter Goneril

Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson are reuniting on screen to star in Shakespeare's King Lear for the BBC.

It will be adapted and directed by Richard Eyre and will also feature Emily Watson, Jim Broadbent, Christopher Eccleston and Jim Carter.

Filming on the co-production with Amazon Studios starts this month and it will be on BBC Two in 2018.

Sir Anthony and Thompson previously starred in Oscar-nominated films The Remains of the Day and Howard's End.

Thompson and Sir Anthony starred in The Remains of the Day

REX/Shutterstock Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins in Remains of the Day — Thompson and Sir Anthony starred in The Remains of the Day

King Lear will be set in a fictional version of the present day, with Sir Anthony's Lear presiding over a totalitarian military dictatorship in England.

Thompson will play his eldest daughter Goneril, Emily Watson will play middle daughter Regan, and Florence Pugh will be the youngest, Cordelia.

Richard Eyre directed Emma Thompson in The Children Act

Getty Images Richard Eyre and Emma Thompson attend the The Children Act cocktail party during the 2017 Toronto Film Festival — Richard Eyre directed Emma Thompson in The Children Act

Piers Wenger, controller of BBC Drama, said: "Richard Eyre has assembled an unmissable cast to embody his vision for a timeless but deeply resonant screen adaptation of King Lear."

Jim Broadbent will play the Earl of Gloucester and Sherlock star Andrew Scott will play his son Edgar.

Downton Abbey's Jim Carter will play the Earl of Kent, with Christopher Eccleston as Oswald.

Also in the cast are Tobias Menzies, Anthony Calf, Karl Johnson and John Macmillan.

Thompson has just filmed another movie with Eyre, The Children Act, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.

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