Armando Iannucci’s David Copperfield Retains Charles Dickens’ ‘Genuinely Funny’ Comedy – Exclusive Image

When you think Charles Dickens, you don’t necessarily think laughs. You perhaps think sharp commentary on the inequality of Victorian society, tales of rags and riches and pickpockets. But if British director Armando Iannucci – the man behind The Thick Of It, Veep, and The Death Of Stalin – seems like an unlikely fit for a Dickens adaptation, his upcoming film The Personal History Of David Copperfield draws out the inherent humour of Dickens’ writing.

Speaking to Empire in the new Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker issue, the film’s co-writer Simon Blackwell says that this comedically-inflected new take isn’t that far removed from what’s on the page. “Dickens, as a comedy writer, is genuinely funny,” he says. “If something lasts that long and still makes you laugh, there’s something there. We felt other adaptations took the comedy out because it doesn’t particularly carry the story. And they would cast David as a soppy sod. But Dickens was writing himself, so it has to have a spark and a life. And with such a great ensemble, we wanted to bring the comedy out.”

This version casts Dev Patel, above, in the titular role, surrounded by the likes of Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Peter Capaldi, and Paul Whitehouse. Plenty of the cast appeared on the red carpet as The Personal History Of David Copperfield opened the BFI London Film Festival 2019 this week – and the film will get a wider UK release in early 2020.

Read more about The Personal History Of David Copperfield in the new issue of Empire, on sale now with two collectible covers.