BBC and Stan Reveal First Look at Live-Action ‘Lord of the Flies’ Series

The BBC and Stan have released the first images from their upcoming live-action adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

The four-part series is the first version of the story made for television. It is adapted by Jack Thorne, known for Adolescence, and directed by Marc Munden, who worked on National Treasure. The project was created with the support of Golding’s family.

The show is produced by Eleven, the company behind Sex Education, for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Stan will air it in Australia, while Sony Pictures Television will handle international distribution.

The new images reveal the young cast filming on location in Malaysia. Many of the actors are making their professional debuts. Winston Sawyers plays Ralph, Lox Pratt is Jack, David McKenna plays Piggy, and Ike Talbut takes on Simon.

Thomas Connor appears as Roger, Noah and Cassius Flemming play the twins Sam and Eric, Cornelius Brandreth is Maurice, and Tom Page-Turner plays Bill. Over 30 other boys appear as the island’s “biguns” and “littluns.”

Lord of the Flies, first published in 1954, tells the story of a group of schoolboys stranded on a tropical island after a plane crash. Ralph leads the group, trying to keep order, while Piggy offers intellectual support. Jack, in charge of the signal fire, becomes more focused on hunting and leadership, drawing some boys away from the group’s structure and ultimately leading them toward tragedy.

Thorne’s adaptation is set in the early 1950s and is said to remain faithful to the original novel. It aims to explore the story’s deeper themes, including human nature, the loss of innocence, and the struggles of boyhood masculinity. Each of the four episodes is named after a central character: Ralph, Piggy, Simon, and Jack.

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