Apple TV Plus signs Tom Huddleston and Willem Dafoe for Tenzing, a movie about Mt. Everest climbers Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary

Mount Everest
(Image credit: Getty Images / Westend61)

Apple TV Plus subscribers can look forward to a new movie about sherpa Tenzing Norgay and his summit of Mount Everest with New Zealander Edmund Hillary, according to a new report. The movie tells the true story from 1953 and will star two of Hollywood's biggest names.

The report claims that Apple Original Films has picked up the worldwide rights to Tenzing with BAFTA-nominated Tom Hiddleston (of Loki fame, among others) as Sir Edmund Hillary and four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things, Spider-Man) as the English expedition leader, Colonel John Hunt.

There's no timeline for the movie's release yet, but it's reported that there is still a hunt underway to figure out who will play the lead role or Tenzing Norgay.

$25 million budget

Deadline reports that the project was previously being touted to potential buyers as having a budget in around the $25 million range. It's thought that the movie will be a character piece rather than an action-packed movie, so those hoping for drama might want to look elsewhere.

"Tibetan born Tenzing Norgay, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, both outsiders on a British Expedition, defied insurmountable odds to achieve what was once thought impossible, reaching the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest," Deadline explains. It took six attempts before "Tenzing risked everything for one final venture." That does sound like it could be an interesting watch, with filmmaker Jennifer Peedom said to hold the rights to the story and have a close relationship with the Sherpa community.

You'll, of course, need an Apple TV Plus subscription to take the movie in beyond any potential theatrical release, and you'll be able to watch on just about anything with a display and an internet connection. Apple TV apps are available on all of Apple's phones and tablets as well as tons of streaming sticks, smart TVs, and game consoles.

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Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.