A friendship is embittered by the pursuit of power in the trailer of Mary Queen of Scots. Directed by Josie Rourke, the period drama is based on John Guy’s 2014 biography My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots.

Set in the mid-1500s, Mary Queen of Scots chronicles the relationship between the titular monarch (Saoirse Ronan) and her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie). “Each young Queen beholds her ‘sister’ in fear and fascination,” the official synopsis reads. “Rivals in power and in love, and female regents in a masculine world, the two must decide how to play the game of marriage versus independence. Determined to rule as much more than a figurehead, Mary asserts her claim to the English throne, threatening Elizabeth’s sovereignty. Betrayal, rebellion, and conspiracies within each court imperil both thrones – and change the course of history.”

Mary has also been the subject of an English-French bilingual film by Thomas Imbach in 2012.

The star cast of theatre director Josie Rourke’s filmmaking debut includes David Tennant, Jack Lowden and Guy Pearce. Mary Queen of Scots will be released in the United States of America on December 7 and in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2019.

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Mary Queen of Scots.