Classic children’s lit fans around the nation were probably psyched to hear in February that celebrated “Selma” director Ava DuVernay was attached to a forthcoming Disney adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time.
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Jennifer Lee (Frozen) adapted Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved book, which follows young Meg Murry as she travels through time visiting odd worlds to find her missing scientist father with the help of her younger brother and a classmate.
Now, the news is just getting better: “12 Years a Slave” alum Storm Reid will be playing lead Meg Murry, the preteen heroine of the fantasy/sci-fi novel. Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling are all in talks to co-star in the project.
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DuVernay is directing the project, which has a script by Frozen writer and co-director Jennifer Lee. Winfrey will play the role of Mrs. A Wrinkle in Time marks the first title in L’Engle’s four-book “Time Quartet” series, which also includes A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and Many Waters. Which, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Whatsit who help Meg and her friends on their journey. A Wrinkle in Time gives a much-needed nod to diversity as the Murry family will be mixed-race. The listing for the other kid characters in the film, Charles and Calvin-who is described as red-headed in the book; both characters are played by white actors in the 2003 TV movie-calls for “a 5-year-old mixed-race boy of African-American and Caucasian descent” and “a 16-year-old boy who is an ethnic minority”.
