Netflix's Matilda musical casts Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull

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Thompson joins Lashana Lynch in the streamer's movie musical

Emma Thompson in Late Night
(Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing International)

Emma Thompson has joined the cast of Netflix’s Matilda musical as tyrannical headmistress Miss Trunchbull. The streamer is adapting the award-winning musical Matilda, which is in turn an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s novel about a little girl who loves books and has telekinetic powers. 

Matilda’s imagination and love of reading clash with her small-minded parents and make her unpopular with the formidable Miss Trunchbull, and it’s only her kindly teacher Miss Honey who provides her with kindness and support. Newcomer Alisha Weir will play the titular heroine, while No Time to Die’s Lashana Lynch has been cast as Miss Honey.

"Matilda will be an imaginative and fresh retelling of the award-winning musical, Matilda, featuring talented young newcomers, alongside established stars," Warchus said in a statement. "I look forward to introducing this beloved and powerful story to a new generation of fans around the world."

This isn’t the first time this story has been adapted for the big screen – a movie starring Mara Wilson as Matilda and Danny DeVito as her father, Mr Wormwood, was released in 1996 (DeVito directed, too). 

Emily Garbutt
Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.