Shardlake first look reveals major change from book series

Shardlake is getting a long-awaited TV adaptation but there's a big change fans of the original book series will notice — yes, our hero looks a lot more dashing than he comes across in the books!

Announcing the adaptation of the first book in the series, "Dissolution", Disney Plus released a photo of leading actor Arthur Hughes riding a horse as the titular lawyer Matthew Shardlake.

Fans of C.J. Sansom’s Tudor mysteries will know that Shardlake doesn't consider himself to be very attractive, but in this promo image, he appears to be a bit more confident in himself!

However, the makers are keeping true to the fact that Shardlake has a curvature of the spine, saying: "His position in society is unfavoured due to his appearance, as a person living with scoliosis during the Tudor period, suffering the indignity of being abused as a 'crookback' wherever he turns."

Shardlake actor Arthur Hughes recently starred in Help alongside Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham and is also known for his role as Ryan in The Innocents.

Tweeting the teaser image, Disney Plus wrote: "Here’s your first look at Shardlake, a four-part Original drama based on the Tudor murder mystery novels by CJ Sansom" and then went on to list the cast members.

They confirmed that Arthur Hughes would be joined by Sean Bean, who will be playing the role of Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's dangerous right-hand man, who Shardlake works for. And, again, Sean Bean is rather more dashing than the typical image of Thomas Cromwell!

Other cast includes Tetris star Anthony Boyle as Jack Barak, Babou Ceesay as Abbot Fabian, Game of Thrones star Paul Kaye as Brother Jerome, and Ruby Ashbourne Serkis as Alice.

The four-part series is written by The Last Kingdom's Stephen Butchard and produced by The Forge and Runaway Fridge.

Speaking about bringing the stories to life, Stephen said: "Writing Shardlake has been nothing short of a joy. C.J. Sansom’s novels are incredibly rich in story, character and history; full of intrigue, excitement, cruelty and compassion — and at the centre of it all is Matthew Shardlake, a hero like no other. 

"Although these stories are set in Tudor England, the themes absolutely engage and resonate with today’s world. Hundreds of years may have past — but humankind and what makes us tick has changed little."

Disney Plus has teased that the series is "drenched in mystery, suspense and deception" and that filming has commenced, although we don't have a confirmed release date just yet.

Shardlake will be streaming exclusively on Disney Plus.