Elysian Film Group has debuted a new trailer for his follow-up to Benh Zeitlin’s Oscar-nominated film ‘Beasts of The Southern Wild’, ‘Wendy.’

The film follows the classic story of Peter Pan which is wildly reimagined in this ragtag epic starring a stunning cast of young actors, headlined by Devin France in the title role of Wendy.

While lost on a mysterious island where ageing and time have come unglued, Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up.

Wendy movie
Photo Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Directed and written by Zeitlin alongside his sister Eliza Zeitlin, he wanted to capture and reinvent the childhood myth that had captivated him and his sister.  Rather than Peter’s story, their tale focuses on Wendy who experiences Neverland but has to leave it behind.

Zeitlin recalls how “On every birthday of our childhoods, my sister Eliza and I wished as we blew out the candles that we would never grow up.  We were terrified of our older selves and desperate to determine what kind of loss turns kids into grown-ups before it was too late, and that door closed forever.”

Wendy movie
(From L-R): Krzysztof Meyn, Romyri Ross, Ahmad Cage, Gage Naquin, Gavin Naquin and Devin France in the film WENDY. Photo by Jess Pinkham. © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

Produced by Becky Glupczynski (Maria Full of Grace), Dan Janvey (Nomadland), Paul Mezey (Maria Full of Grace) and Josh Penn (Monsters and Men) the film was shot both in Louisiana and, for Neverland, the mountainous Caribbean island of Montserrat, home to a still active volcano and diverse landscape of lush rainforests, towering cliffs and surreal rock formations in the ocean. Zeitlin wanted to replace fairy magic and flying with wonders of nature bringing an earthier, more naturalistic idea of how Peter’s wildness could exist in the world.

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‘Wendy’ will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on 13 August 2021

 

Wendy movie poster