Elsinore Trailer: Andrew Scott Plays Ian Charleson in a Drama About His Final Hamlet

Focus Features has released the official trailer for Elsinore, with Andrew Scott playing Ian Charleson in Simon Stone’s film about the actor’s final stage period. It begins a select-theater run in North America on November 20, 2026, with a wider rollout there over Thanksgiving and through December. This is a drama about Charleson, not a new film adaptation of Hamlet.

What Is Elsinore About?

Focus describes Charleson as an actor at the height of his powers whose final performance at London’s National Theatre becomes the center of the story. Its synopsis frames the film around his response to his own mortality and the people around him. The trailer introduces the film’s interpretation of that period; it should not be treated as a complete record of Charleson’s private life.

The stage production inside the film is Hamlet, as producer LD Entertainment describes. The National Theatre’s archive lists Charleson as the Prince of Denmark in its 1989 production. That distinction matters: Scott portrays Charleson, an actor performing Hamlet, rather than playing Shakespeare’s prince throughout a direct adaptation of the play.

Who Is in the Film?

Focus’s current film page lists Olivia Colman, Billie Piper and Johnny Flynn alongside Scott. Its wider cast includes Luke Thompson, David Dawson, Matthew Beard, Joe Locke, Monica Dolan, Adeel Akhtar, Juliet Stevenson and Peter Mullan. Focus has not assigned character names to most of these performers on that page, so a cast list alone should not be read as a role guide.

Simon Stone directs. Stephen Beresford wrote the screenplay, based on an idea by Ethan Silverman. Those credits come from Focus’s film page, which also lists Scott among the producers.

When Does Elsinore Open?

Focus says the film opens in select North American theaters on November 20 and expands into more markets there over the Thanksgiving holiday and through December. It identifies STUDIOCANAL and other distributors for international territories, but that North American announcement does not make November 20 a worldwide opening date. Check the relevant local distributor for dates outside North America.

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