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21 August 2025

HEDDA trailer drops: Tessa Thompson leads lesbian reimagining of the classic play

Starring actress Thompson as the title role, the trailer teases her wet in lingerie in tense scene

By Aaron Sugg

Tessa Thompson wearing a white glove with her hand clutched to her chest
Tessa Thompson (Image: Supplied)

The official trailer has dropped for HEDDA, a bold and camp reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic Hedda Gabler, this time re-centering the drama around a lesbian love triangle.

Starring Thor: Love and Thunder actress Tessa Thompson in the title role, the film reframes the infamous anti-heroine for a modern audience, giving Ibsen’s story a distinctly queer lens.

In the original play, Hedda was entangled in a love triangle with her husband George Tesman and her former lover Eilert Lövborg. But in Nia DaCosta’s adaptation, that dynamic takes on fresh urgency.

“My initial instinct was this character should be female” – Director Nia DaCosta on rewriting Lövborg as a woman

Lövborg becomes Eileen (Nina Hoss), who arrives at Hedda’s home openly in a relationship with another woman, Thea Clifton (Imogen Poots). Her presence disrupts Hedda’s carefully controlled life, reigniting lesbian passions while threatening her fragile heterosexual marriage.

Tessa Thompson dancing in a gown with co-stars at a party
Tessa Thompson stars as “Hedda Gabler” in HEDDA.
Director Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson on the set of Hedda.
Director Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson on the set of Hedda.
(L-R): Hedda Gabler (Tessa Thompson), Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss), Thea Clifton (Imogen Poots) in HEDDA having a conversation dressed in ball gowns
(L-R): Hedda Gabler (Tessa Thompson), Eileen Lovborg (Nina Hoss), Thea Clifton (Imogen Poots) in HEDDA.
Tom Bateman (George Tessman) and Tessa Thompson (Hedda Gabler) in HEDDA starring closely in each others eyes
Tom Bateman (George Tessman) and Tessa Thompson (Hedda Gabler) in HEDDA.
Tessa Thompson in a satin blue top holding a cigarette in-front of two men
Tessa Thompson stars as “Hedda Gabler” in HEDDA.
(L-R) George Tessman (Tom Bateman), Hedda Gabler (Tessa Thompson) and Judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock) in HEDDA at a party
(L-R) George Tessman (Tom Bateman), Hedda Gabler (Tessa Thompson) and Judge Roland Brack (Nicholas Pinnock) in HEDDA.
Tessa Thompson wearing a dress and pearl necklace clutching her chest with her white glove dressed hand
Tessa Thompson stars as “Hedda Gabler” in HEDDA.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, writer and director DaCosta explained her reasoning for rewriting Lövborg as a woman: “My initial instinct was this character should be female because it helps themes about power and autonomy, about choice, about self-regulation. I think Hedda is someone who imprisons herself a lot, as much as society does.”

The trailer teases a haunting, sensual atmosphere, filled with kisses, lingerie and gunplay, promising a film that is equal parts gothic and erotic.

“She’s just really great at that tension” – DaCosta on Thompson’s acting

The filmmaker praised Thompson’s adaptation of the character: “She’s so brilliant at playing characters who have a roiling ocean inside of them but have to keep a façade.”

“She’s just really great at that tension,” she continued.

The film has already been announced as part of the Official Competition at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, building anticipation for its release.

The teaser closes with Hedda’s husband, Tesman, asking, “I hope you are happy,” to which she coolly replies: “Do I not look happy?”

The reimagined classic displays an all-star cast including Tessa Thompson, Imogen Poots, Tom Bateman, Nicholas Pinnock and Nina Hoss.

HEDDA is set to appear in cinemas 22 October before streaming on Amazon Prime 29 October.

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