This October, Paddington and The Shape of Water star Sally Hawkins stars in new film The Lost King, which tells the remarkable true story of how an ordinary woman discovered the long-lost remains of King Richard III in a Leicester car park.
The release will coincide with the 10th anniversary of the incredible discovery – and RadioTimes.com can now exclusively reveal a first look at the trailer for the film.
The trailer introduces us to Philippa Langley (Hawkins) who we first meet as she struggles with an unfulfilling job where she is frequently undermined by her male colleagues.
Everything changes, however, when she attends a theatre production of Shakespeare’s Richard III with her son. The play famously portrays the monarch as a brutal killer – as did much of the historical record – but Philippa instantly believes he is being unfairly represented.
“I actually felt sorry for him,” she explains.
She begins to take a keen interest in learning all she can about his life and is seen in the trailer purchasing eight books, joining the local King Richard III society, and starting her mission to find his grave.
And Richard himself even makes a few appearances, with Philippa seen telling him, “I know you’re some sort of apparition. I’ve been trying to work out why you’re here. I wonder if it’s because you’re lost.”
Not everyone seems so optimistic about her new mission, however. Her husband John (Steve Coogan) is seen looking disbelieving when she reveals her plan and even the apparition of Richard himself seem a little concerned, telling her: “This is starting to look like an unhealthy obsession.”
But Philippa appears defiant in her mission, explaining: “All the information I need to find him, it’s all out there. But I don’t think anybody’s brought it all together before.”
And as the trailer shows, Philippa is eventually vindicated, with the remains discovered in the most unlikely of places.
“I’m here to tell you a story, about a person who was judged unfairly in life,” she says towards the end of the clip. You can watch it in full below.
The film reunites the creative team behind the 2013 Oscar-nominated hit Philomena, with Stephen Frears directing from a script by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope.
The official synopsis provided by Pathé reads: “In 2012, having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a car park in Leicester.
“The search had been orchestrated by an amateur historian, Philippa Langley, whose unrelenting research had been met with incomprehension by her friends and family and with scepticism by experts and academics.
“The Lost King is the life-affirming true story of a woman who refused to be ignored and who took on the country’s most eminent historians, forcing them to think again about one of the most controversial kings in England’s history.”
In addition to Hawkins and Coogan, the cast for the film also includes Mark Addy as archaeologist Richard Buckley and Harry Lloyd as King Richard III.
The Lost King will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 7th October 2022. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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