Jenna Coleman's 2022 Year in Review, part 1: Acting
In short, 2022 was almost the opposite of 2021 in this regard. From January to June, Jenna didn't do any acting (that we know of), but after that, she was very busy most of the time working on Wilderness, Jackdaw, and rehearsing for Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons.
Bad news first: in 2022, Jenna had less screen time than in any other year of her acting career since 2011. There are numerous reasons for this, including her break from April 2021 to June 2022, and various delays. She appeared prominently in one episode of The Sandman, and had a small and tiny appearance in two others. She also voiced Melia Antiqua in Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Good news: 2023 is going to be a very good year for Jenna Coleman fans, with Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, Klokkenluider, Wilderness, and possibly also Jackdaw being released. Jenna was arguably involved in more projects this year than ever before. She promoted the release of the film Klokkenluider, and started filming Jackdaw. She promoted the TV show The Sandman, and filmed Wilderness. She started rehearsing for the play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons. And the game Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was released.
The Sandman
10 episodes of The Sandman season 1 were released on Netflix on the 5th of August 2022. As was announced in 2021, Jenna played Johanna Constantine, a sort-of, but not quite genderbent John Constantine. Johanna goes through similar events as John in the comics, but reacts differently to them, being her own unique character. Episode 3 of The Sandman, "Dream a Little, Dream of Me", predominantly revolves around her.
Several additional scenes were added to that episode, to establish her character, such as the ones shown in the two gifs above, in which she is tasked with exorcising a demon from a princess, and dresses up as a priest for the occasion.
Jenna also played the ancestor of Johanna Constantine; Lady Johanna Constantine, in episode 6 of The Sandman, "The Sound of her Wings". She appears in the scene set in 1789, during the sequence of meetings between Morpheus and Hob Gadling every 100 years. Although this appearance was brief, it marks the introduction of her character, who will appear again in future episode(s) of The Sandman.
Jenna was phenomenal in both roles, and received tons of praise for her portrayal of both Constantines. Since the release of the show, a lot of people have requested for her to get her own spinoff show! Unfortunately, I think it is unlikely to happen, given how reluctant Netflix was to even renew The Sandman, but you never know!
Both Constantines are very unique roles for Jenna, these are parts the likes of which she has never played before. And just as she always does, she really made them stand out, and be unique. Just as she does for all of her roles, she gave them their own unique way of speaking, a unique pronunciation. She talked a lot about how she approached playing the characters, and how she portrayed their rough, cynical, sweary outside, to hide their true feelings.
Jenna also did a lot of promotional work for The Sandman in the months leading up to the release. The above gif is from a video of the cast of The Sandman associating a word or phrase relating to the show, to every letter of the alphabet, for Entertainment Weekly.
We don't yet know for sure if Jenna will reprise her role(s) for season 2 of The Sandman, but she did share this behind-the-scenes picture of herself as Johanna Constantine meeting Morpheus (played by Tom Sturridge) on Instagram after the announcement of the renewal of the show.
Hopefully, Jenna will receive the awards and nominations she deserves for her amazing acting in the show next year!
Xenoblade Chronicles
Jenna also reprised her role as Melia Antiqua in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which was released on the 29th of July 2022. Above is a picture of her doing the voice acting for the game. You can watch the cutscenes from the game here:
Klokkenluider
After a long period of uncertainty about its release, Klokkenluider, the film Jenna Coleman filmed in February to March 2021, had its world premiere on the 8th of October at the London Film Festival. It was subsequently also shown at the Cambridge Film Festival, and the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. It was announced to be more widely released at some point next year.
Jenna's character, Flo, was reported to only appear in the final act of the film. She is a very sweary character, apparently even more so than Johanna Constantine. One review of the film said that "Coleman must hold some kind of record of how many times a character can say any version or abbreviation of the word “cunt” in under a minute, but her role is the most fun I’ve seen the actress ever have on screen."
The reviews of the film and Jenna's acting in it have been almost universally very positive. So I can't wait to see it!
Wilderness
On the 17th of June, 2022, Jenna Coleman was announced to lead the Amazon Prime show "Wilderness", in which she plays Liv Taylor. It is based on the novel of the same name by B.E. Jones. Filming took place in Canada and the USA from the 17th of June to the 1st of October. The show will mainly revolve around her and Will Taylor, played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
It was announced that it would be released next year, but we are still waiting for a date to be announced for it. The behind the scenes pictures show that they filmed in lots of beautiful scenery.
Jackdaw
This is a "secret" new film that Jenna started working on in the week of the 5th of December. It is apparently directed by Jamie Childs, and also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen. Everyone involved has tried to keep talk about it to a minimum, and there have not been any public announcements about it yet, besides casting calls for various roles.
At the moment, we only know very little about it. Given the deliberate secrecy, it is likely that "Jackdaw" will not be the final name of the film. But what we do know, is that Jenna dyed her hair a light shade of blonde, much lighter than her hair colour in The Cry.
We know that Jenna wears a black outfit, and is involved in several action sequences. She even has a stunt double for these scenes!
At the moment, it is impossible to say when it will be released. Jenna has only worked on it for a brief period so far, as rehearsals for Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons started soon after the start of filming. Other actors involved in the film have, however, been working almost right until Christmas on it. It is quite possible that Jenna will continue filming it, after the play is done, in April 2023.
Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons
On the 8th of November, it was announced that Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner would star as Bernadette and Oliver in the play Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons. It will be shown at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London from the 18th of January to the 18th of March, then in Manchester from the 21st to the 25th of March, and finally in Brighton from the 28th of March to the 1st of April.
The promotion for the play has been absolutely amazing. The play immediately had an official Instagram and Twitter account, and its own website. Additionally, there was a photoshoot for the play, a TV interview at the BBC's today show, and a radio interview during the Zoe Ball Breakfast show. And all of that weeks before rehearsals even began!
Starring Jenna Coleman and Aidan Turner, Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons is a tender and funny rom-com about what we say, how we say it,
For fans living outside the UK, it remains unclear if it will be possible to see the play. But hopefully, it will be recorded for NTLive, just like All My Sons was.
The War Rooms
This is a show, that Jenna was announced to be the lead actress in, and the executive producer for, on the 27th of April 2021. However, since the initial announcement, there has not been any news about it whatsoever. Although this could be interpreted as the show having been scrapped, Jenna Coleman recently said during a Comic Con, that it was still in development, that it was just taking a long time.
Perhaps filming for it will start in 2023?
