A new trailer for the latest adaptation of A Christmas Carol has been released today. The FX miniseries is being exec produced by Tom Hardy, who will also appear in a “pivotal” but undisclosed role.
The story of A Christmas Carol, as if you didn’t know, follows Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who despises Christmas and everyone and everything associated with it, whereupon he’s visited by three ghosts who highlight to him the error of his ways with the intention of convincing him to change them. The story is so ingrained in the public consciousness that even those who have never actually read Charles Dickens’ book will be well aware of its key aspects through the countless direct adaptations, re-imaginings, references and parodies to have been made out of it over the years.
Most versions of the story ultimately play it as an uplifting tale of transformation, where a mean old man’s encouraged to embrace generosity, kindness and compassion. This one, however, looks to be fully leaning in to the story’s more sinister aspects, as is highlighted by this new trailer, in which Andy Serkis’ Ghost of Christmas Past informs Scrooge he will “repent,” with the hypnotic and malevolent sibilance suggesting this will be whether he wants to or not.
The original tale is rather a short one, and to fill the requirements of a three-part miniseries we can likely expect numerous expansions on the text to flesh out Scrooge’s character, who in the second trailer is heavily implied to extort sex from Mary Cratchit for money to help her family, while also highlighting the misery that the actions of the “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner” cause to everyone around him, shown in the first one.
A Christmas Carol will air in its entirely on FX on December 19th, and in the UK on BBC One from December 22nd-24th, providing a festive icy chill from your screens to complement that outside your window.
