The Crown and Doctor Who stars team up for new movie

Based on the Tony-winning musical.

By Iona Rowan

8 Feb 2023

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The Crown's Olivia Colman and Doctor Who star Tosin Cole are teaming up for Girl from the North Country, an upcoming adaptation of the Tony-winning musical inspired by the music of Bob Dylan.

As reported by Variety, the pair will also be joined by The Hunger Games' Woody Harrelson and Black-ish actor Chlöe Bailey.

Girl from the North Country is set in 1934 in Duluth, Minnesota during the Great Depression, and follows a group of misfit travellers as their lives intertwine in a guesthouse.

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Things are getting out of hand for proprietor Nick Laine (Harrelson), whose wife Elizabeth (Colman) is suffering from dementia, while the bank is threatening to foreclose on their house.

However, their lives are changed forever when their adoptive daughter Marianne (Bailey) strikes up an unexpected romance with escaped convict Joe Scott (Cole).

Conor McPherson, who wrote the stage show, will also write and direct the film, using Dylan's music to "score a Depression-era story about Midwesterners who cross paths at a turning point in their lives".

"Having Bob Dylan’s trust to create a story using his incomparable songs is a huge privilege which has brought nothing but joy to my world," McPherson said in a statement.

"But working with this incredible cast to bring these characters to life is almost beyond imagining.

"I’m also especially thrilled to be working with Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and the whole Blueprint team who have given cinema audiences some of the greatest movies of recent times."

Both the musical and film have been Dylan-approved, with the music legend saying in his own statement: "It goes without saying the man is a genius for putting this thing together and I’m thrilled to be a part of the experience. My songs couldn’t be in better hands."

The Crown seasons 1-5 are streaming on Netflix. Seasons 1-4 are also available on DVD and Blu-ray.