Wow, are we excited about this movie or what.
A Wrinkle in Time is one of those books we’ve all been waiting to see as a film since we first read it as a kid (we will ignore the 2003 Canadian television adaptation, and any others you can think of, for the premise of this intro). Though I’m personally disappointed to have aged out of playing protagonist Meg Murry, the announcement that the role has gone to Storm Reid (Twelve Years a Slave) is very satisfying.
DuVernay’s approach to making the movie has been predicated on her own ignorance of most fantasy franchises, according to an interview with LA Mag. In it she says she’s never seen Lord of the Rings or Narnia (lucky her), and she tried to hire heads of production who haven’t either. Because, as she says, “That lets us consider: How do we make one of these movies to satisfy ourselves?”
One of the ways to satisfy herself was casting for diversity:
I’m into the girl being at the center. I’m into what the worlds could look like as imagined by a person of color. I’m interested in the trio of witch characters—Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which—looking like women who would appeal to kids all over the world, not just like lovely old white ladies from New England. I want the little girl in Pakistan or the transgender kid to see the movie and see something in themselves. I asked the folks at Disney, “Are you down with that?” And they were.
Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon are also in negotiations for roles, two more people with whom I would love to go on an interplanetary journey.
