Wiz Khalifa will star as a personification of death in Apple TV+’s new series “Dickinson,” Entertainment Weekly reports. The series will chronicle the life of poet Emily Dickinson with modern music and dialogue.
“We literally put Wiz Khalifa on our tone board as this would be the dream,” the show’s creator Alena Smith told the outlet. “Like he’s the aesthetic we want Death to have and then somehow we magically got Wiz Khalifa, so that was incredible.”
Hailee Steinfeld will also star in the series, playing the role of a young Emily Dickinson. “I’m a huge fan of him in general, so the fact that we were able to get him to do the show was so exciting and he loved the idea of it,” Steinfeld said of working with Wiz. “He read a bunch of it, and he was so into it. He showed up unbelievably prepared. He’s got the greatest sense of humor ever. It was just so fun to have that weird crossover as part of our show. It is very different and weird and interesting and exciting, and he is a major element in this show that makes it all of those things.”
EW reports that the show has a contemporary twist, with hip hop and rap being included in the score. Smith explained why Khalifa was the ideal choice for the role. “I wanted Death to be the coolest guy in the world because Emily is in love with Death,” she said. “Part of the story of the season is about her coming to a more realistic and mature understanding of Death, but where she begins is a kind of Goth worship of death. I just really wanted it to be someone that you would genuinely get excited to see.”
“Dickinson” premieres on Apple TV+ on Nov. 1.