Tom Hiddleston has revealed details about the much anticipated return of BBC’s The Night Manager as well as Hugh Laurie possibly reprising his role as arms dealer and villain Dickie Roper.
It was confirmed this week that multi-award winning BBC spy thriller would be back for two more series, following the explosive season one finale in 2016.
Now Tom, 43, has said the battle to ‘get the story right’ was the reason it had taken such a long time to return to the screen.
He said during an appearance on Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live: ‘We were working very closely with John Le Carré, the great writer who wrote the original novel and many others who sadly passed away a few years ago but he had a huge input on the story’.
Tom explained how following series one being based on the original book a whole new story for his character Jonathan Pine had to be created from scratch.
Tom Hiddleston, 43, has revealed details about the anticipated return of BBC ‘s The Night Manager as well as Hugh Laurie’s possible return as arms dealer and villain Dickie Roper (pictured on Thursday)
It was confirmed this week that multi-award winning BBC spy thriller would be back for two more series, following the explosive season one finale in 2016 (L-R Tom and co-star Hugh in The Night Manager)
Tom said the battle to ‘get the story right’ was the reason it had taken such a long time to return to the screen (L-R) Tom Hollander, Olivia Colman, Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Laurie
The Loki star was then pressed by the host if co-star Hugh, 64, who was producing the new series, would back acting on screen after his character was kidnapped by enemies at the end of series one.
Despite saying he ‘didn’t know’ Jimmy quipped: ‘Now this for sure seems like a lie, and I’ll tell you why, because you just said you figured out the story’.
Before adding: ‘Now how can you figure out the story, without knowing if Hugh Laurie is in the story’.
Stumped, Tom said with a smile: ‘That’s good maths’.
The first series of The Night Manager won multiple BAFTAs, Emmy Awards, and Golden Globes and was watched by more than 10 million viewers,making it one of 2016’s most watched TV shows.
Tom even bagged himself a Best Actor at the Golden Globes for the role. He said in a statement following the announcement: ‘The first series of The Night Manager was one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I have ever worked on.
‘The depth, range and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect.
‘I’m so looking forward to reuniting with Simon and Stephen Cornwell, David Farr and Stephen Garrett, and to working with Georgi Banks-Davies to tell the next chapter of our story. I can’t wait.’
He said during an appearance on Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live: ‘We were working very closely with John Le Carré, the great writer who wrote the original novel and many others who sadly passed away a few years ago but he had a huge input on the story’
Tom explained how following series one being based on the original book a whole new story for his character Jonathan Pine had to be created from scratch
The new seasons will premiere on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and globally on Prime Video, in a deal negotiated by FIFTH SEASON, which is handling global distribution of the series.
Series creator David Farr said: ‘John le Carré’s work has long been an inspiration to me and working closely with him on Season 1 was an honour and a pleasure.’
Speaking about how he was hesitant to extend the story beyond the book he explained: ‘an idea came to me a couple of years ago which felt truthful to that unique world of dark corners and shady identities.
‘No one marries the suspense of espionage with a deep exploration of the human soul quite like le Carré. I hope that in some way we can pay homage to his uneasy genius in this new exploration.’
Discussing working with Tom again he added: ‘I am thrilled to be working again with Tom Hiddleston, Stephen Garrett and The Ink Factory team, and to be welcoming the brilliant director Georgi Banks-Davies into our ranks.’
Meanwhile BAFTA winner Georgi Banks-Davies is set to direct the series, after the show’s former director, Susanne Bier, previously ruled herself out of the running.
The Loki star was then pressed by the host if co-star Hugh, 64, who was producing the new series, would back acting on screen after his character was kidnapped by enemies at the end of series one
Despite saying he ‘didn’t know’ host Jimmy quipped: ‘Now this for sure seems like a lie, and I’ll tell you why, because you just said you figured out the story’.
Inspired by the characters in John le Carré’s best-selling novel, the first series won multiple BAFTAs, Emmy Awards, and Golden Globes and was watched by more than 10 million viewers, making it one of 2016’s most watched TV shows
Tom cut a very dashing figure in a navy suit as she arrived at the studio
She told Radio Times in 2019: ‘I’m not doing Night Manager 2. I wasn’t sure that I would do my very best work the second time round – so I decided that I should probably not do it and have somebody [else direct it].
‘I think part of it is that as a director you have to have a crazy huge challenge,’ she continued. ‘I don’t necessarily think that if a challenge becomes ‘Do something different from what you did last time’ – I don’t think that’s an organic challenge.
‘I just got worried that I would repeat myself or do something which wasn’t as great, but I think somebody else is going to do an amazing job out of it,’ she concluded.
Fans were delighted at the news as they took to Twitter to rejoice writing: ‘Such a great adaptation! It’s one of my favourites of his novels and I was always amazed people didn’t talk about it more (until the TV)’.
‘Amazing!!!’; ‘This is SO exciting!’; ‘Excellent’; ‘Long overdue. First series was brilliant.’; ‘Brilliant news. Thanks!’; ‘Alléluia’; ‘YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS’.
The BBC show initially aired in 2016 and was met with critical acclaim – winning two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards – including Best Actor for Tom
