Thirteen years after starring in Belle, Gugu Mbatha-Raw returns to the screen in a new Sky supernatural thriller, Possession, which she says shares 'common themes' with her 2013 breakout role. The 43-year-old actress plays Claudia, a lawyer sent to Jamaica to handle an inheritance case tied to a former plantation owner's fortune, a narrative that echoes the legacy of slavery and the fight for justice central to Belle.
From Belle to Claudia: A Warrior for Justice
Mbatha-Raw describes Claudia as 'a warrior in the fight for justice', contrasting with Dido Elizabeth Belle, whom she portrayed as 'a lady in a love story'. In Possession, Claudia is dispatched to Jamaica after the descendant of a wealthy plantation owner bequeaths his estate to an unknown local man, a decision contested by the aristocrat's son, played by Johnny Lee Miller. As Claudia investigates the possibly haunted plantation, her loyalties begin to waver.
'I think what Possession takes a step further than Belle did is that it takes the story into the present,' Mbatha-Raw told Metro. 'It's not only looking at a romantic piece of history, but it's saying, this is how the history has informed our present day and who is accountable for righting the wrongs of the past?' She added, 'They're definitely part of the same lineage in a way, but I see Claudia as a warrior in the fight for justice. So very different women, with related themes.'
Past Is Present: The Supernatural Twist
The supernatural element emerges with the arrival of Bel Powley, who appears to have stepped out of the 18th century as the lady of Hope Hill plantation. The narrative weaves between present-day and colonial past, where the modern inheritor is an enslaved man. Director Storm Saulter emphasizes that these parallel timelines are not flashbacks but a deliberate storytelling choice to illustrate that colonialism is not a distant historical event.
'One of our mantras throughout this process was past is present,' Saulter told Metro. He noted that scenes at Hope Hill, both past and present, were filmed at a real former plantation house in Jamaica. 'People lived and died in that space for hundreds of years, so I had that consciousness in my mind, and also the story itself.'
Visual and Auditory Echoes
Saulter employed visual mirroring to blur the lines between eras. For example, a character drinking rum in the past is matched with another drinking holy water in the present. 'You could layer the shots on top of each other, and you'd see the exact frames and the exact movement,' he explained. Sound design also plays a role, with tree frogs and drumming from the 1700s incorporated into contemporary scenes.
'It's these subconscious things that tell you this world has been walked in,' Saulter said. 'So everywhere we could find ways to tie the two, we did.' This technique sets the stage for the narratives to bleed together, culminating in a literal possession across eras.
Airing and Reception
Possession airs on Sky Atlantic on August 6 at 9pm. The series has already sparked conversations about reparatory justice and the enduring impact of colonialism, with Mbatha-Raw's performance drawing early praise for its depth and intensity.
