The Mirror and the Light’ — Damian Lewis & Mark Rylance Return

The Big Picture

• Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis are set to return in the final chapter of Masterpiece’s historical drama, Wolf Hall, titled The Mirror and the Light.
• The new season follows Thomas Cromwell as he navigates the aftermath of Anne Boleyn’s execution, facing moral dilemmas and multiple enemies.
• The original creative team, including director Peter Kosminsky and writer Peter Straughan, is reuniting for The Mirror and the Light, aiming to honor author Hilary Mantel’s final novel.

After eight years, Masterpiece is gearing up for a return to Wolf Hall. Production is about to begin on the final chapter, with Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis returning to lead the historical drama which has thus far chronicled the rise of lawyer Thomas Cromwell into a prominent position in the court of King Henry VIII following his master, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey‘s fall from grace. The new season, titled Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, will be based on the trilogy capper in the late Hilary Mantel‘s multi-award-winning set of novels.

The Mirror and the Light picks up in the aftermath of the execution of Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, as Cromwell somehow manages to escape the bloodshed unscathed. Although he can continue amassing power and influence, the whole display assures that nobody is truly safe in the king’s court. Cromwell is in particular trouble with no powerful family behind him and only the wits that got him there. The season will follow the moral dilemmas he faces as he tries to keep his head on his shoulders while still trying to do the right thing and steer England toward the future. Unfortunately for him, things are even more complicated than that with rebellion within the country’s borders, traitors abroad, and an invasion on the horizon. All the while, Cromwell’s fortunes are running out as he’s earned no small number of enemies who wish to see his demise.

Anticipation has been mounting for a new season since the show’s first run in 2015, which covered Mantel’s first two books Wolf Hall and Bringing Up the Bodies. The original series was an awards darling, earning eight Emmy nominations and two BAFTA wins including for Best Drama Series. The announcement of The Mirror and the Light first came back in 2019 as Mantel was preparing the final novel for release and with its return comes most of the cast from the original. That includes Rylance, who earned a BAFTA Award and an Emmy nomination for his role as Cromwell, and Lewis, who picked up an Emmy nomination as well. Others who are confirmed to be returning at this time include Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey, Kate Phillips as Henry VIII’s third wife Jane Seymour, and Lilit Lesser as Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. More names will be announced at a later date.

‘Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light’ Brings Back Its Starry Creative Team

In addition to the cast, The Mirror and the Light reunites the original period drama’s talented creative team. Leading the charge behind the camera is seven-time BAFTA-winning director Peter Kosminsky, whose resume includes Britz, The State, Warriors, and The Undeclared War among other projects. Academy Award-nominated Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy co-writer Peter Straughan is once again adapting the novels for television with Playground and Company Pictures producing for the BBC and Masterpiece.

Many of those involved have expressed their excitement about returning to King Henry VIII’s court with The Mirror and the Light. Kosminsky was pleased to be working with the expert Wolf Hall team once again, giving shoutouts to individuals involved with the project while also paying tribute to Mantel, who sadly passed away in 2022:

“The Mirror and the Light picks up exactly where Wolf Hall ended, with the execution of Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. I’m overjoyed to be able to reunite the extraordinary cast we were lucky enough to assemble for Wolf Hall, led by the brilliant Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, with the original creative team of Gavin Finney (DOP), Pat Campbell (Designer) and Joanna Eatwell (Costume Designer). We are all determined to complete what we started – and to honour the final novel written by one of the greatest literary figures of our age, Hilary Mantel.”

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light currently has no release date. The first season can be viewed on Prime Video with a PBS Masterpiece subscription in the U.S., on BBC iPlayer in the UK, or bought digitally. Stay tuned here at Collider for more as production gets underway.

Check out the trailer for the first season below.

Watch on Prime Video

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