Fleance and Obscured Scottish Futures in Screen Adaptations of Macbeth by Goold, Kurzel and Coen

Abstract

The play-text of Macbeth enigmatically leaves the future of Scotland open. The play ends with Malcolm
hailed as the new king, but the rest of the weird sisters’ predictions, namely that Banquo’s issue will be kings, is left
unanswered even though Shakespeare’s main source, Holinshed’s Chronicles (Volume V) (1577) contains a detailed
(albeit completely fabricated) sequel as to the future of Fleance. The three Macbeth film adaptations examined here
– Rupert Goold (2010), Justin Kurzel (2015) and Joel Coen (2021) – all address this loose end of the play-text,
leaving clues for the viewer to predict what might happen after the action of the film is over. By opening a door to
the future (often literally and visually, as in Goold and Kurzel), and showing Fleance on the move, they all suggest
a linear or cyclical continuation of his story and Scottish history. This article considers key elements of the
adaptations, focussing on the show of kings and the endings. I argue that the directorial choices of these films,
instead of suppressing the line of Fleance, give voice and prominence to his alternative narrative, while also
emphasising the cycle of violence that the play suggests.