Emma Thompson reveals why her Trunchbull hates children in Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical. Based on Dahl's 1988 eponymous children's book and its 2010 smash hit musical adaptation, the upcoming musical fantasy movie is the second film to be centered on the fictional protagonist, after Danny DeVito's 1996 film, which starred Mara Wilson as Matilda. In the new movie. Alisha Weir is essaying the titular character, with the story exploring her journey as after being neglected by her parents, Matilda finds a trusted guardian in her primary school teacher, Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), who recognizes her abilities as well her psychokinetic powers.
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While another film adaptation of Matilda has been in the works for almost a decade, it was only in 2020 that the movie was officially commissioned for a release on Netflix, with Sony handling its theatrical distribution. Initially, there were reports that Ralph Fiennes would portray Trunchbull in Matilda, but that did not necessarily warrant any shocking reactions as the tyrannical headmistress had been played by male actors on stage before. But in 2021, it was announced that Thompson would be playing the role instead, and the first look at her character was revealed in the trailer for Matilda in June 2022.
Now ahead of Matilda's world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, Thompson has shared some details about her villain with Deadline. The actress explains that she took a slightly different approach to the character; rather than basing it on a man, Thompson took inspiration from the life of the British poet, Dame Edith Sitwell, to give Trunchbull sort of a backstory. Thompson's Trunchbull, like Sitwell, was bullied and harassed as a child, hence she cannot tolerate any susceptibilities in children and is so harsh to them because of her own traumas. Read what Thompson said below.
“I said how much like a man do you want me to play it. And they said, no, we’re moving away from that but I need her to be absolutely real.
“I decided that Trunchbull was cruel because she couldn’t bare her own childhood. And she just couldn’t bare any vulnerability in children. So we sort of approached it from a very real point of view. It was fascinating. I also had a fantastic amount of fun with the prosthetics and creating her shape and her massive athleticism and strength. She was probably physically the most demanding thing I’ve ever done.”
When Thompson's casting was first announced for Matilda, it proved to be controversial with many as her physicality did not match Trunchbull's bulking, muscular characterization in the comics. But that did not remain a point of contention for long, as with the right prosthetics, Thompson was quickly able to recreate Trunchbull's brawny figure, putting all doubts about her casting to rest. Interestingly, Thompson did not only capture the physical essence of Trunchbull from Dahl's novel, but she also updated the character by giving it an interesting backstory that resolves the lingering dilemmas about the cause behind Trunchbull's ruthlessness and her antagonism against children.
While Thompson's own spin on Trunchbull is undoubtedly exciting, it remains to be seen if it will resonate with viewers as well. For years, fans of Dahl's novel and its film and musical adaptations have been intrigued by the mystery behind Trunchbull's behavior, so now, finally having an explanation for her brutal ways could go either way with the audiences. While some might appreciate the closure around Matilda's many mysteries, others could be put off by the movie's divergence from the source material. That said, it seems from Thompson's comments that Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical could also include a few other changes from Dahl's work, the response to which could become clear once Matilda arrives on Netflix for streaming on December 16, 2022.