Rematch is a drama set in 1997 and inspired by true events, plus this psychological thriller is set to rival the success of previous chess drama (albeit fictional) The Queen's Gambit.
The six-part series follows the Russian world chess champion Garry Kasparov (Christian Cooke) as he takes on a match against the IBM supercomputer called Deep Blue in a human vs machine battle. It was the first time a world champ lost a chess match to a computer, changing the perception of AI forever.
Here's everything you need to know about Rematch on Disney Plus...
Rematch release date
Rematch is a six-part drama series starting on Disney Plus from Wednesday May 21 2025. The series first aired in 2024 on RTS 1 channel in Switzerland then on French-German Arte channel
Is there a Rematch trailer?
Yes there's a trailer now for Rematch. which you can watch below...
Rematch plot
Set in the late 1990s Rematch focuses on the true story of the man vs machine battle between the then world chess champion and an IBM supercomputer dubbed Deep Blue, which was programmed to calculate more than 200 million moves per second. At the time IBM were losing sales and they set their sights on Deep Blue beating Kasparov to boost publicity and company stock. But as millions tuned in to watch, the showdown became seen as a defence of the human race against the power of AI.
The six-part drama follows the six tense chess games in the rematch and all the psychological warfare behind the scenes, as the Deep Blue team seek help from other chess grandmasters to improve the computer’s speed and play strategy. They also study hundreds of Kasparov’s televised games in the run-up to the showdown, yet refuse to give Kasparov any of Deep Blue’s match data. But despite allegations of unfairness the final result ends up marking the dawn of a new AI era.
Rematch cast — Christian Cooke as Garry Kasparov
Playing the Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in Rematch is British actor Christian Cooke. He's previously starred in the movie Cemetery Junction and Channel 4 series The Promise. He playedMickey Argyll in BBC1'a Agatha Christie mystery Ordeal By Innocence and has starred in Echo Beach, Magic City and Witches of East End.
Read our exclusive interview with Christian Cooke below...
Exclusive interview with Christian Cooke on playing Garry Kasparov in Rematch
Set in the late 1990s Rematch focuses on the true story of the man vs machine battle between the then world chess champion and an IBM supercomputer dubbed Deep Blue, which was programmed to calculate more than 200 million moves per second. At the time IBM were losing sales and they set their sights on Deep Blue beating Kasparov to boost publicity and company stock. But as millions tuned in to watch, the showdown became seen as a defence of the human race against the power of AI.
"Kasparov first played Deep Blue in 1996 and won, but the following year IBM offered him a lot of money for a rematch," Christian Cooke, 37, told us in an exclusive interview. "Money wasn’t what Kasparov courted necessarily. He was a real of advocate of technology and genuinely wanted to test the limits of Deep Blue’s computing power.
"The series really makes you reflect on technology and the value of human connection. It makes you think about whether where we’re heading in terms of AI is actually where we want to be."
Meanwhile, Cooke not only had to master a Russian accent for the role, but he also had to learn hundreds of chess moves! "I don’t really play chess, so it was a real challenge mentally,’ he says. ‘I had to recreate all Kasparov’s moves for each match and that meant memorising 30 or 35 moves per game. And the Russian accent was tricky to master, too – it can be very easy to verge into Bond villain territory!"
Who else is starring in Rematch
The Rematch cast also includes Sarah Bolger (into the Badlands), Luke Pasqualino (Our Girl) and Aidan Quinn (Elementary) as Kasparov’s agent Roger Laver.
Other cast for Rematch Molly Harris, Tom Austen and Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge. Aidan Quinn (Elementary) plays Kasparov’s agent Roger Laver
A brief history of Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov is the Russian chess grandmaster who was world champion from 1985 to 2000, winning his first world title aged just 22. He's also a political activist and since retiring from the chess scene, Garry has dedicated himself to writing and politics. His book series My Great Predecessors, first published in 2003, details the history and games of the world champion chess players who preceded him.
He left Russia in 2013 for fear of persecution and now resides in the US. He was chairman of the Human Rights Foundation from 2011 to 2024. In 2017, he founded the Renew Democracy Initiative (RDI), a US political organisation promoting and defending liberal values the US and abroad and is now chairman of this group.
