The series, with the working title Shardlake, will be filmed in the UK this year and could consist of four episodes, according to sources. Should it become a success, there's plenty of material for The Forge to explore, as Sansom has written seven novels in the Shardlake series.
The first book, Dissolution, introduces readers to Dr. Matthew Shardlake, a hunchback detective lawyer in Tudor England. He is sent by Thomas Cromwell, the ultimate ruler of the House of Tudor, to investigate the beheading of Robin Singleton, a commissioner responsible for closing monasteries after Henry VIII proclaimed himself chief of the Church of England.
Disney and The Forge have appointed Justin Chadwick (pictured) to direct the Shardlake series. Chadwick was the lead director on Becoming Elizabeth and has experience in Tudor storytelling, having directed the feature film The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), starring Eric Bana, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson.
The BBC explored film adaptations of the Shardlake novels for television in 2007 and even cast Sir Kenneth Branagh to play the disabled detective. However, the project was never broadcast and Branagh eventually signed on to star in Wallander (UK) for the BBC.
More than fifteen years later, Disney+ is looking for its very own Shardlake to bring the popular character to the screen for the first time. The books have been dramatized for radio by the BBC, with Jason Watkins (The Crown) and Justin Salinger (Alex Rider) both playing Shardlake.
Disney+ original British scripts include Wedding Season, a marriage-killing drama, and Extraordinary, about a woman living in a world where everyone has superpowers except her.
Disney+ Lines Up Adaptation Of CJ Sampson’s Shardlake Tudor Detective Novels https://t.co/ON4zpa0sGC
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) January 4, 2023
