Wicked Little Letters trailer: Olivia Colman plays shamed spinster Edith Swan in new film based on the bizarre case that stunned a sleepy Sussex town in 1920s Britain

A new trailer for Thea Sharrocks’ epic mystery comedy Wicked Little Letters was released on Thursday.

The Crown’s Olivia Colman, 49, stars as Edith Swan, a deeply conservative woman who is quick to point fingers in the mystery of her community.

Olivia will star alongside Jessie Buckley in the upcoming film, with the 33-year-old actress expected to play Rose Gooding – the fiery younger woman wrongly accused of writing a series of hateful letters to various members of the community .

The new Film 4 release, which will hit UK screens on February 23, 2024, is set around a 1920s English seaside resort in Sussex.

The two-and-a-half-minute teaser gives fans an idea of ​​the show’s outrageous language and playful humor.

The new trailer shows Edith and Jessie in classic 1920s clothing as members of the community run through the town setting traps and plotting about who the threat to the village really is.

It follows two neighbors: conservative local Edith and boisterous Irish migrant Rose.

When Edith and her fellow residents begin receiving angry letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanity, foul-mouthed Rose is accused of the crime.

The anonymous letters cause national uproar and a lawsuit ensues.

But when the women of the town, led by police officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan), begin to investigate the crime themselves, they suspect that something is wrong, and that Rose may not be to blame.

Although the film is expected to be a huge success, the shocking true story behind the highly anticipated film and the trials continue to baffle true crime fans to this day.

Filming of Wicked Little Letters is currently taking place around Arundel and Worthing, which includes Littlehampton, where the bizarre incident took place almost a century ago.

Those familiar with the infamous case will know that Edith, a respected member of the community, was eventually exposed as the author of the poison pen, charged with defamation and ultimately tried in Lewes District Court in 2021.

The new film is considered a light-hearted take on the case, with neighbors joining forces to solve the mystery after the finger is wrongly pointed at the Gooding.

On two occasions she would be sent to prison for crimes of which she was completely innocent, and the case would span a total of four trials – all of which were ruthlessly reported by the national press and captivated the nation.

Edith was ultimately found responsible for writing the obscene letters, but the judge presiding over her case refused to accept the evidence, convinced that Eshe was the kind of Englishwoman incapable of swearing, and found her innocent of the crimes .

In the years since, there has been speculation that she suffered from some sort of mental illness.

As many as 80 crew are believed to be working on location in West Sussex, with Blueprint Pictures – the production company responsible for the film’s development – ​​making a donation to the council after roads were forced to close while scenes were filmed filmed.

Timothy Spall, Hugh Skinner and Joanna Scanlan have also been cast in unconfirmed roles.