'The Dig': Release date, plot, cast, trailer and all you need to know about Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes movie

'The Dig' is an upcoming movie that reimagines the discovery of the ship burial of Sutton Hoo and stars Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes
PUBLISHED JAN 26, 2021
A still of Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes in 'The Dig' (Netflix)
A still of Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes in 'The Dig' (Netflix)

'The Dig' is based on the novel of the same name written by John Preston, and it reimagines the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo. Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes were initially in talks to star in the film, however, it was Carey Mulligan who had finally been cast to play the part.

Release date: 

The film had a limited release on January 15 and will be followed by a release on Netflix on January 29 when it will be available to stream.

Plot: 

According to the official synopsis from Netflix, the plot of 'The Dig' is as follows. "As WWII looms, a wealthy widow hires an amateur archaeologist to excavate the burial mounds on her estate. When they make a historic discovery, the echoes of Britain's past resonate in the face of its uncertain future‎."

Cast: 

Carey Mulligan as Edith Pretty

Carey Mulligan attends the 2020 Sundance Film Festival - "Promising Young Woman" Premiere at The Marc Theatre on January 25, 2020 in Park City, Utah. (Getty Images)

Actor Carey Mulligan plays the role of Edith Pretty -- a real-life character -- in the film and it is on her property that the Sutton Hoo burial site is located. She hires a local archeologist, Basil Brown, to check if there was something buried underneath the many mounds on her property and that is when the burial site gets discovered. 

Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown

Director and actor Ralph Fiennes attends "The White Crow" UK Premiere at the Curzon Mayfair on March 12, 2019 in London, England. (Getty Images)

Ralph Fiennes plays the role of the local archeologist who Pretty hires, and he is also a self-taught astronomer. This role is based on a real-life character. Brown's discovery and excavation of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo is considered "one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time".

Lily James as Peggy Preston

Actor Lily James plays the real-life character of Peggy Preston who is an English archeologist and also a prehistorian whose career spanned a total of 60 years during which time she published 50 exemplary articles and books. 

Other cast members include Johnny Flynn as Rory Lomax, Ben Chaplin as Stuart Piggott, Ken Stott as Charles Phillips, Archie Barnes as Robert Pretty and Monica Dolan as May Brown. 

Director: 

The film is directed by Simon Stone who is an Australian film and theater director. His debut film 'The Daughter' released in 2016 and had premiered in 2015 at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. 

Trailer:

The trailer of the film shows how the film centers on the wonder and size of a discovery as big as the Sutton Hoo ship burial and everyone wanting a piece of this shiny pie. Pretty, on whose land the ship burial is discovered, and Brown, the archeologist that she hires, will experience a life-changing event.



 

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