Nicola Coughlan, Nonso Anozie & ‘Baby Reindeer’ Breakout Jessica Gunning Join Enid Blyton Adaptation ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’

Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Derry Girls), Nonso Anozie (Sweet Tooth, Ted Lasso), and Jessica Gunning (Baby Reindeer) have signed on to star in The Magic Faraway Tree, the upcoming Enid Blyton adaptation from Neal Street Productions, Elysian Film Group and Ashland Hill Media Finance.

Based on The Faraway Tree series of novels for children, The Magic Faraway Tree follows Polly and Tim Thompson and their children, Beth, Joe, and Fran, who find themselves forced to relocate to the remote English countryside. There, the children discover a magical tree and its extraordinary and eccentric occupants. Ben Gregor (Britannia) is directing the feature.

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Coughlan has been cast as the woodland fairy Silky, Anozie is the self-appointed group leader Moonface, and Gunning is Dame Washalot. The cast is rounded out by Dustin Demri-Burns (Slow Horses, The Great) as the Saucepan Man, Mark Heap (Friday Night Dinner, The School for Good and Evil) as Mr. Oom Boom Boom and Oliver Chris (Trying, My Lady Jane) as Mr. Watzisname.

Lenny Henry, Michael Palin, and Simon Russell Beale have also joined the cast and will play a trio of mystical wise men from the Land of Know-Alls. They join the previously announced Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield.

The film is produced by Academy Award-nominee Pippa Harris (Empire of Light, 1917, Call the Midwife) and Nicolas Brown (Britannia, Informer, Penny Dreadful) of Neal Street Productions along with Danny Perkins (Greatest Days) of Elysian Film Group, and Jane Hooks (Golda, Living). Executive Producers include Ashland Hill Media Finance’s Simon Williams, Joe Simpson Jonathan Bross, and Palisades Park Pictures’ Tamara Birkemoe.

Ashland Hill Media Finance is fully financing The Magic Faraway Tree. Palisades Park Pictures is handling worldwide sales, with CAA Media Finance co-repping US rights.

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