Hedda: Release date news, cast details and more about the upcoming drama adaptation starring Tessa Thompson

Hedda is an upcoming romance drama film written and directed by Nia DaCosta, starring Tessa Thompson in the central role. The project marks their second collaboration after the 2018 film Little Woods.

Thompson is the latest actor to take over the role of Hedda Gabler, the conflicted protagonist from Henrik Ibsen's 1891 play of the same name. Before her, Diana Rigg, Ingrid Bergman, and Fiona Shaw, among others, played the role in previous film or stage adaptations. Unlike them, DaCosta's film aims to capture something more.

In a conversation with Vanity Fair, the filmmaker spoke about going through the text of the earlier adaptations, saying:

“I liked it, but I thought, This is not as funny or dark or sexy as what I read or what I felt when I was reading it. So I was like, Wouldn’t it be cool to do a movie where I make all the subtext text?”

Apart from Thompson, the cast also includes Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots, and Tom Bateman in key roles. Before its release in October, let's look at all the details, including its plot, cast, and characters.

When will Hedda release?

Amazon MGM Studios will release Hedda in select theaters in the US on October 22, 2025, a week ahead of its streaming debut on Amazon Prime Video on October 29.

Before that, the film will premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 7. It was produced by Orion Pictures in collaboration with Plan B Entertainment.

Who is starring in Hedda?

Tessa Thompson (Passing, Sorry to Bother You) headlines the cast as the titular character. The rest of the cast includes:

Nina Hoss as Eileen Lovborg
Imogen Poots as Thea Clifton
Nicholas Pinnock as Judge Roland Brack
Tom Bateman as George Tesman
Jamael Westman as David
Mirren Mack as Tabitha Greenwood
Finbar Lynch as Professor Greenwood
Saffron Hocking as Jane Ji
Kathryn Hunter as Bertie

Nia DaCosta's film aims to offer a closer look at Henrik Ibsen's play to help us better understand Hedda Gabler's complicated personality. In a previous conversation, DaCosta revealed what appealed to her about her.

“I thought that this character was terrifying, but also how brave to write a character like this, who is—to me, at least—unredeemable and does horrible things, but you’re telling it from her perspective and have huge empathy for her," said DaCosta.

What is the plot of Hedda?

Unlike Henrik Ibsen's play, Nia DaCosta's script places her characters in 1954, mid-century England, to analyze themes of power, autonomy, choice, and self-regulation, as per her discussion with Vanity Fair. That's why she changed one of its characters, the lead's potential love interest, to a woman, married to another woman.

Here's the film's official plot synopsis, as per TIFF,

"Newly wed and precariously dissatisfied with life, Hedda, gun-loving daughter of the late General Gabler, has convinced her husband George, a timid but ambitious scholar, to throw a lavish party the couple cannot afford."

It further says,

"On the teeming guest list is Eileen Lovborg, a celebrated author of a book exploring sexuality — and George’s key rival for a coveted academic post. Hedda sees the guests as pawns in an elaborate game she plans to orchestrate with ruthless precision."

Prime Video released the film's official trailer on August 21, as shared above. As revealed earlier, the film is scheduled to be theatrically released on October 22.