Perhaps feeling like they will have plenty of A-list talent already in front of the camera (as well as behind it in the director's chair), Walt Disney Studios reportedly has settled on a relative newcomer to play the lead role in its planned production of A Wrinkle In Time. Storm Reid, the young actress whose credits include Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave and the Sundance hit Sleight, has been cast as Meg Murry, a girl embarking on an interplanetary adventure to find her missing father.
THR breaks the casting news, while also noting that Storm Reid may be surrounded by the power trio of Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling, if casting deals work out. We have been reporting on the possibility of these three actress joining Disney's production of A Wrinkle in Time, which will be helmed by Ava DuVernay, but the trade still notes that the ladies are "in various stages of negotiations," which means no one has signed on the dotted line at the moment. Maybe now that they have a leading lady, they will fall in line.
A Wrinkle in Time was published in 1963, written by Madeleine L'Engle and conceived during a road-trip vacation across the middle of America. The story follows Meg Murry on her incredible journey to find her father, where she's helped by the three mysterious characters of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. The beings use a device called a tesseract -- no, not that one, Marvel fanatics -- to hope across several dimensions to find out what happened to Meg's father.
The story behind A Wrinkle in Time has been adapted before as a TV series, which starred Alfre Woodard. Disney has had the rights to the film adaptation of Wrinkle since 2010, but they struggled for years to find the right director to tackle the project, as it's expected to be a massive blend of love-action, practical effects and cutting edge CGI.
The new version boasts a screenplay by Jennifer Lee, who delivered a massive hit for Disney in Frozen. Now the studio needs to lock up the casting. Disney doesn't yet have a release date for A Wrinkle in Time, but we expect the details to start falling into place now that Storm Reid has landed the major role of Meg Murry. I expect the rest of the main roles to be cast very soon, and a date to be announced, so stay tuned.
