Riz Ahmed’s 'Hamlet' trailer drops murder suspicion into a South Asian business dynasty

Highlights:

• Hamlet trailer lands with Riz Ahmed in the lead role
• Film sets Shakespeare inside a wealthy British South Asian family
• Directed by Aneil Karia and in cinemas 6 February 2025
• Cast includes Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn, Sheeba Chadha and Art Malik

Riz Ahmed has entered Hamlet in a way British cinema has not quite seen. The new Hamlet trailer has been released by Universal, giving the first proper look at Aneil Karia’s modern take on Shakespeare and placing the story inside a British South Asian business empire. It is due in cinemas on 6 February, and the footage shows a tense, controlled Ahmed moving through grief, suspicion and family power.

The film teams Ahmed and Karia again after The Long Goodbye, which won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. That success informs this production. This is the first time a major UK studio release has grounded Hamlet within a South Asian household for a wide audience.

Riz Ahmed\u2019s Hamlet trailer exposes a South Asian family empire in crisis Youtube Screengrabs/Universal Pictures UK

Why the Hamlet trailer feels different for Riz Ahmed

The two-minute cut opens with a funeral. Ahmed’s Hamlet is home for his father’s passing and already out of place. His mother’s decision to marry his uncle Claudius is handled without excess drama in the trailer, but the shock is clear enough.

The source story is unchanged: a son, a murder, a replacement father. What moves is the detail of business power and inheritance. Viewers get a brief glimpse of the ghost, only a voice and a flicker, but the threat is stated. His father was killed.

Ahmed has spoken for years about pushing British Asian roles away from side parts or stock material. This performance seems sharp and internal. A few lines in the trailer show agitation rather than flourishes.

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How the film places Hamlet in a British South Asian family

Karia’s staging uses modern clothes, modern homes, straight English and classical text. It is not staged theatre. No arch language appears on screen, at least not in the trailer.

Sheeba Chadha plays Gertrude. Joe Alwyn appears calm and smug as Claudius. Morfydd Clark, Art Malik, Timothy Spall and Avijit Dutt fill out the cast. The South Asian setting is conveyed through visuals like family photographs, clothing, boardrooms, and a sense of inherited money across generations.

Power, paranoia and responsibility sit atop everything. A single line about “corruption” in the family business may generate interest in how closely Karia and Ahmed keep the social frame.

What’s next for this Hamlet?

This is a cinema release rather than a streaming programme. Universal will expect serious coverage, especially with the awards history of its lead actor and director. For Ahmed, born in Wembley and now a familiar British figure in Hollywood, this returns him to UK storytelling on a grand scale.

Riz Ahmed\u2019s Hamlet trailer exposes a South Asian family empire in crisis Youtube Screengrabs/Universal Pictures UK

The campaign will now pick up pace. Universal has pushed out YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok links for sharing. Publicity is handled by Media Hive. The film opens on 6 February. Then audiences will decide whether this Hamlet speaks to a new room or stays inside the echo of the old text.