First image of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher arrives

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the first image of Meryl Streep in her Margaret Thatcher guise for The Iron Lady .

Despite sniggering when we first saw the pic, we can't deny that the likeness is uncanny.

Streep may as well collect an Oscar nod for this now, as it's surely inevitable that playing Maggie will add to her enviable Academy Award record.

The film focuses on the run-up to the Falklands War in 1982, and also stars Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher.

Alexandra Roach and Harry Lloyd play the younger incarnations of the Thatchers, and Richard E. Grant, Olivia Colman and Anthony Head round out the cast.

Streep said of the role: “The prospect of exploring the swathe cut through history by this remarkable woman is a daunting and exciting challenge."

"I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses – I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own!”

Shooting began at the end of January, with the film set for release later this year.

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.