Riz Ahmed in talks to play Hamlet in Netflix film

Fresh from his Emmys win, Riz Ahmed is reportedly in talks to star in Netflix's Hamlet, which will present a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare's play.

The script will be penned by Mike Lesslie (2015's Macbeth), according to The Hollywood Reporter, with Jim Wilson (Under the Skin) serving as producer.

The play centres on the revenge Prince Hamlet is compelled to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of his father, but will get an update in setting, moving from 17th-century Denmark to modern day London, 'complete with economic and political uncertainty'.

If the talks are successful, Ahmed will follow in the footsteps of actors like Kenneth Branagh, Ethan Hawke and Oscar Isaac, who have all played one of Shakespeare's best-known protagonists.

The British actor is enjoying a stratospheric rise at the minute, rewarded earlier in the year with an Emmy for his role in HBO's The Night Of. His next project will be DC's Venom and drama The Sisters Brothers, starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Joaquin Phoenix.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for more film, TV and music.