The film adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic sci-fi fantasy novel “A Wrinkle in Time” had its trailer debuted at the D23 Disney convention in Anaheim on Saturday to the shrieks of fans in the auditorium.
Directed by Ava DuVernay, who is known for her socio-political films “Selma” and “13”, the film tells the story of a young girl called Meg who, after her scientist father disappears, encounters celestial beings, Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) and Mrs Who (Mindy Kaling).
Together, along with a friend and her brother, Meg and the Mrs’s go on a space and time adventure to help her find her father and rid the universe of evil.
Duvernay admitted that the adaptation isn’t a strict one to the original source material but said: “The people who are going to love the film the most are people who love the book and embrace what the book says to do, which is to have an open mind.
“That’s what the book says to open your mind to the possibilities of the universe. We did that so it’s not exactly what’s on the page. We opened our minds and let our imaginations run wild but it still feels the same.
“You leave the film with the same feeling you do as you close the last page of the book so hopefully fans will be able to make that connection and step into a whole new interpretation of ‘A Wrinkle in Time’.”
Duvernay is one of only a handful of female Hollywood directors to be allowed to take control over big-budget blockbusters.
“You know, everyone’s working towards this place where we don’t have to have this conversation any more”, she said. “But until that’s the case, we have to keep talking about it and I’m happy to have contributed to the forward progress in some way.”
Nearly all the cast and crew backstage at D23 talked about how they hoped the film would inspire. Reese Witherspoon said she liked the idea that “women can be heroes. We can guide other women through the universe and challenge ideas of what’s been seen before and I think it’s really exciting.”
“A Wrinkle in Time” goes on release in the US on March 9, 2018.