‘Hedda’ Trailer: Nia DaCosta’s Post-’Marvels’ Movie is 19th Century Stage Adaptation

So, you’re Nia DaCosta, a filmmaker who showed promise with a well-reviewed indie debut (“Little Woods”) but, a few years later, decided to take a crack at a major studio movie (“The Marvels”), which turned out to be the biggest bomb in MCU history. What do you do next?

Well, how about dusting off a stage classic?

DaCosta has chosen to reimagine Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler,” a realist drama built around one of theater’s most famous female roles. The trailer just dropped — check it out below.

In Ibsen’s original play (published in 1890), Hedda Gabler was written as a white, upper-class Norwegian woman. DaCosta, while keeping the period setting, has cast Tessa Thompson in the titular role.

DaCosta’s “Hedda” follows a young woman, newly married yet deeply unfulfilled, whose manipulations push an old flame toward tragedy. More than a century later, the material still resonates, and DaCosta seems intent on channeling that through Thompson, who steps into the role with plenty to work with.

Thompson previously headlined DaCosta’s “Little Woods,” and she’ll be joined here by Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman, Nicholas Pinnock, and Nina Hoss.

DaCosta’s career path since “Little Woods” has been… interesting. Call it a sharp pivot into the mainstream: the “Candyman” reboot in 2021, “The Marvels,” and most recently, wrapping production on “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” the middle installment of Danny Boyle’s new trilogy.

“Hedda” will premiere at TIFF next month before opening in theaters October 22 via Amazon MGM, followed by a global Prime Video launch on October 29.