Karen Gillan to Play Queen Mary Tudor In Historical Comedy 'Fools'

Queen Mary Tudor often gets a bad rap. Her reign, which spanned just five years, is sandwiched between that of her infamous, unstable father, who was famous for killing his wives, and her glorious sister, who would go on to be regarded as one of the greatest monarchs in English history. It's a lot to live up to, in either direction. Instead, poor Mary is mainly forgotten, and when she's remembered, it's in much the way her mother, Queen Catherine of Aragon, was, as a frumpy religious zealot who couldn't have a child. And whose strident Catholic faith led to the deaths of thousands of Protestants, though the sobriquet "Bloody Mary" has always been something of a misnomer, given who her father was and how high the body count of his reign ran.

But the upcoming historical film Fools is finally set to look at a lesser-known and more lighthearted bit of Mary's life story: Her friendship with her female fool.

Set in the 16th century in the aftermath of King Henry VIII's death, the film follows the story of England's first queen, Mary I, as she takes the throne in a divided country. While an ambitious cardinal plots to secure control, he overlooks a humble court jester, Jane Foole. The pious and seemingly humorless queen finds Jane's slapstick routines uproariously funny, and the two strike up a genuine friendship. Jane's humor lightens Mary's mood during dark times, often helping her to resist her darker urges and fend off the manipulation of others. But can Jane's comedy save a nation from civil war?