Never say that Empire doens't bring you culture of a Friday. Following this morning's touch of Shakespeare with the Coriolanus poster, here's your first look at Jeremy Irvine as Pip in Mike Newell's adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Why is he holding a bunch of flowers? We can only assuming he's off a-wooing. Irvine isn't exactly a household name just yet, but as the lead in War Horse you can expect to become a little bit more familiar with him in the near future. He joins a star-heavy cast, including Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham (who we saw unveiled - or rather veiled - last week), Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch and Robbie Coltrane as Jaggers. The observant among you will remember that Newell previously worked with all those three on Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, but it seems like solid casting in its own right here rather than some attempt to randomly get the gang all back together.
The story sees the orphaned Pip given a fortune by a mysterious benefactor, who he suspects is the eccentric Miss Havisham. But he's less concerned with who's behind the gift, administered by lawyer Jaggers (Coltrane) and more concerned with wooing Miss Havisham's man-eating ward Estella (Holliday Grainger). Great Expectations is due to hit screens next autumn, which just about gives you time to read the book in preparation. | 
