BBC Unveils 'The Musketeers' Cast

U.K. public broadcaster BBC on Tuesday announced key members of the cast of The Musketeers, its 10-episode update of the classic Alexandre Dumas story.

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The BBC One/BBC America co-production will star Luke Pasqualiano (Skins, The Borgias) as D’Artagnan, while Peter Capaldi (The Hour, The Thick Of It) has been cast as the shadowy Cardinal Richelieu.

Tom Burke (The Hour), Santiago Cabrera (Merlin, Heroes) and Howard Charles of the Royal Shakespeare Company will play the three musketeers Athos, Aramis and Porthos.

Executive producer Adrian Hodges (My Week With Marilyn) created and wrote the TV drama, which the BBC described as "a fresh and contemporary take on the classic characters." Production starts next month, and the hour-long show is set to air next year.

The show will be set in 17th century Paris, "where law and order is more an idea than reality," and will feature a new story each week. The musketeers are "far more than King Louis XIII’s personal bodyguards, but ultimately stand resolutely for social justice -- for honor, for valor, for love and for the thrill of it," the show description says.

D’Artagnan meets the three musketeers while on a mission to avenge his father’s death.

Said Hodges: “I'm thrilled to be working with such a dynamic, talented and attractive ensemble cast on our new version of The Musketeers. This series is all about passion, romance, heroism and action, and I can't think of a better group of actors to embody those diverse qualities."

Said Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC Drama: “The ambition of this drama is clearly illustrated with such a world-class mix of talent -- the perfect team to take the audience on thrilling action adventures every week.”

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai