First Look At Legion’s Dan Stevens As Charles Dickens

No, it’s not part of some Downton Abbey Christmas episode, it’s a first image of Dan Stevens as none other than ol’ Boz himself, Charles Dickens. It’s for an upcoming film The Man Who Invented Christmas, set to hit theaters in late ’17. Set in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Dickens wrote a short novel which he hoped would keep him out of debtor’s prison, but was rejected by his publisher. He takes the last of his funds and uses it to publish A Christmas Carol by himself, and setting the stage for the rise of one of the greatest English authors.

Jonathan Pryce will play John Dickens, Charles father, and Christopher Plummer will be Ebenezer Scrooge. The original book was penned by historian and author Les Standiford and adapted for the screen by Susan Coyne, whose prior writing credits include Slings and Arrows, The Best Laid Plans, and  Mozart in the Jungle.