First-look images of Dame Joan Collins as Wallis Simpson in The Bitter End have been revealed.
Directed by Mike Newell, the movie will follow Simpson, the American divorcee who became the Duchess Of Windsor after marrying King Edward VIII, and will also star Conclave actor Isabella Rossellini.
In the new pictures, the 91-year-old can be seen wearing a green floral dress and sunglasses while peering out from behind a flowerbed, alongside Rossellini in a dark blue coat as French lawyer and confidante of Simpson, Suzanne Blum.
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire actor Miranda Richardson, Game Of Thrones actor Charles Dance, His Dark Materials actor David Langham, Happy Valley’s Jill Baker, Downton Abbey’s Philippe Spall, and Pride And Prejudice’s David Bamber are among those recently announced to join the duo in the film.
Producer John Gore said of the casting: “We are thrilled to announce the exceptional cast and creative team joining Joan Collins and Isabella Rossellini in The Bitter End.
“It’s an exciting project for John Gore Studios as we commit to producing distinctive British stories for global audiences.”
The film will tell the true story of the complex relationship between Blum and Simpson, and how, as a result, Simpson’s once-glamorous life spiralled into “terror and desperation” in the last years of her life.
The Bitter End will be produced by Gore, Richard Holmes and Francis Hopkinson and executive produced by Hilary Strong and Michael Foster, with its screenplay written by screenwriter and novelist Louise Fennell.
After marrying in June 1937, Edward and Simpson lived the rest of their lives in exile in France, with the king dying in May 1972, while Simpson died in Paris in 1986 at the age of 89.
Dame Joan, who is known for playing Alexis Carrington Colby in US show Dynasty, previously said of the film: “I am thrilled about the challenge of playing this iconic woman in a previously untold story and to be in John Gore Studios’ initial roster of what I’m sure will be a very successful endeavour.”
Simpson has previously been portrayed by May 33rd star Lia Williams in hit Netflix royal drama The Crown, Nip/Tuck star Joely Richardson in TV film Wallis & Edward, Faye Dunaway in The Woman I Love, and Nurse Jackie star Eve Best in The King’s Speech.
