Big name cast announced for Watership Down adaptation

  • 29/04/2016
The first Watership Down film was released in 1978
The first Watership Down film was released in 1978

An animated Watership Down miniseries is in the works, with James McAvoy, Gemma Arterton, John Boyega, Nicholas Hoult, Sir Ben Kingsley and Olivia Colman among the voice cast.

The Netflix and BBC adaptation of the 1972 novel from Richard Adams will be released in 2017.

Watership Down, which was previously adapted as a 1978 animated film, tells the story of a group of rabbits in rural England who set out to find a new burrow after encroaching farmers threaten their home.

Many die along the way -- several from infighting among the complex rabbit hierarchy -- with danger coming from both within and without.

Tom Bidwell (My Mad Fat Diary) is writing the four-part miniseries, while Noam Murro (300: Rise of an Empire) is set to direct.

Newshub.