Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer to star in epic BBC western The English… as filming on the Hugo Blick–directed series kicks off in Spain
Emily Blunt will star alongside Chaske Spencer in award-winning director Hugo Blick’s new western for the BBC, with filming already underway in Spain.
Written and directed by 56-year-old Blick – who also wrote Amazon’s spy thriller The Honourable Woman – the epic series is set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year of 1890.
The plot follows Englishwoman Cornelia Locke (played by Blunt, 38) who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West –which is where she meets an ex-cavalry scout Eli Whipp (played by Spencer, 46) – to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son.
Exciting: Emily Blunt, 38, will star alongside Chaske Spencer, 46,in award-winning director Hugo Blick’s new western for the BBC, with filming already underway in Spain
Cornelia and Eli soon join together and discover a shared history which must be defeated at all costs, if either of them are to survive.
The cast will also include Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom), Tom Hughes (Victoria), Stephen Rea (The Honourable Woman), Valerie Pachner (The Kingsman), Toby Jones (Detectorists), Ciaran Hinds (The Terror), Malcolm Storry (The Princess Bride), Steve Wall (The Witcher), Nichola McAuliffe (Tomorrow Never Dies), Sule Rimi (Black Earth Rising) and Cristian Solimeno (Avenue 5).
The English will be produced by Drama Republic.
Speaking about teaming up with Blunt, director Blick gushed: ‘The chance to make a Western with Emily Blunt and the cast is so delicious I’m still wondering if it’s one of those weird dreams we were all having during lockdown…
Epic: The series is set in the mythic mid-American landscape in 1890, with Blunt playing Cornelia Locke and Spencer (pictured) in the role of ex-cavalry scout Eli Whipp
‘If not, a thrilling, romantic, epic horse-opera is heading to your screen sometime next year, and I couldn’t be more excited.’
Drama Republic’s CEO Greg Brenman – who will executive produce for Drama Republic alongside Blick and Blunt – added of the project: ‘Hugo Blick has created a compelling, modern love story set against the epic landscape of a Western.
‘The English is a true adventure that will tell us as much about the times we live in today as the period in which it is set.’
Co-star: British actor Rafe Spall will star alongside Blunt and Spencer (pictured on the 2020 set of The Salisbury Poisonings)
Piers Wenger, Director of BBC Drama, commented: I’m delighted that Hugo’s beautiful scripts are finally coming to life in The English.
‘With a cast led by the exceptional Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer, I have no doubt that this thrilling and compelling story will be a treat for BBC audiences when it hits our screens.’
It comes after Blunt and her husband John Krasinski are reportedly battling Paramount Pictures over their compensation for their upcoming film A Quiet Place II.
Pay up! Blunt and John Krasinski, 41, are negotiating with Paramount for more compensation on A Quiet Place II after the studio reportedly shrank the film’s exclusive theatrical window
The celebrity couple are said to be fighting for additional compensation from the studio after it opted to shorten the horror film’s exclusive theatrical window, a person familiar with the negotiations told Bloomberg.
According to the source, Krasinski and Blunt are keen to make up for the lost revenue, as most of their payment is tied to how well the film performs in theaters, as opposed to on streaming service.
DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Blunt and Krasinski for comment.