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Matilda the Musical coming to Netflix with Emma Thompson as the villain

Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly bring their hit stage show to the screen in 2022, inspired by Roald Dahl's beloved tale.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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Musical director Tim Minchin poses with the four Matilda cast members (L-R) Dusty Bursill, Tiana Mirra, Alannah Parfett and Ingrid Torelli perform during a media call for Matilda The Musical at Princess Theatre on March 16, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia

Musical director Tim Minchin with Matilda cast members (from left) Dusty Bursill, Tiana Mirra, Alannah Parfett and Ingrid Torelli in Melbourne, Australia.

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There's a new version of Roald Dahl's classic Matilda coming to the screen, and this time Emma Thompson will follow her hiss-worthy turn as the villain in Disney's Cruella by playing the formidable Miss Trunchbull. The new film adapts the hit stage musical, and will be released on Netflix in December 2022.

The film will be released in theaters by Sony Pictures on December 2, 2022 in the UK. Netflix will stream it for the rest of the world that same month. Newcomer Alisha Weir plays Matilda, while sympathetic teacher Miss Honey is played by Lashana Lynch, soon to be seen in the next James Bond film No Time to Die.

This will be a proper live action film based on the 2020 stage show written by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin. The story was already adapted into a 1996 film starring Mara Wilson as Matilda, with Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman as her parents, who'll be played this time by Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough.

Roald Dahl's novel was originally published in 1988. The award-winning musical has played in the West End and on Broadway and toured around the world.

The COVID pandemic has hit live music venues and musical theater hard, but Broadway will reopen in September. A number of stage shows have also been filmed so streaming services can bring the stalls to your sofa. That includes the wildly popular Hamilton

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