Disney has become a risk-averse production company, heavily reliant on sequels and remakes that have built-in audiences. A Wrinkle in Time isn’t a complete break from that trend, but it’s been the biggest question mark on their slate for a while, which makes this trailer a uniquely intriguing bit of promotion.
The book A Wrinkle in Time is a popular but often challenged children’s novel that delves into complex science fiction, religion, and the ongoing battle between good and evil. You know, the usual kids stuff. Adapting this kind of material is no small task, and after the project languished in development hell for years, Jennifer Lee was tasked with writing the screenplay and directing duties were handed to Ava DuVernay.
For the record, these are not interesting choices because of their gender or the color of their skin; they’re interesting because A Wrinkle in Time is a radical break from what either had done before. Lee has had incredible success in animation, where budgets don’t have as large an impact on what can be done in a movie. Hiring her to lay the groundwork for this live-action adaptation is a subtle indication that Disney wanted the film to be grand in scale, and the trailer confirms that the project stayed big and weird.
DuVernay has never made a family film before, and as all the headlines point out, has never worked with this size of a budget. She’s the first woman of color to direct a $100 million live-action film (way overdue), and her previous character pieces and documentaries stand in stark contrast to this colorful extravaganza.
Intentionally making the cast diverse, including casting Storm Reid as the main character, has generated additional buzz without really letting us know what the film would be like. Now that the first trailer has dropped, we know that A Wrinkle in Time is as ambitious, strange, and exciting as many hoped.
A Wrinkle in Time is directed by Ava DuVernay and stars Storm Reid, Chris Pine, Reese Witherspoon, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. It will be released in the U.S. on March 9th, 2018 and in the U.K. on March 23rd, 2018. For international release dates, click here.
Do you think they can pull off this tricky adaptation? Let us know in the comments!
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