George Miller is a genius. Most audiences might recognize him as the director of Mad Max: Fury Road, the insanely spectacular 2015 mega-blockbuster that scored $375 million in box office receipts and garnered an impressive ten Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture. It is easy to forget that Miller has also given us such tender and heartfelt films as Babe: Pig in the City and Happy Feet, showing just how versatile he is as a filmmaker and storyteller. Miller continues to surprise audiences with the fantasy film Three Thousand Years of Longing, which looks just as subversive and wildly entertaining as we've come to expect from the Mad Max mastermind.

The film is based on A.S. Byatt's 1994 short story The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye. The story of Three Thousand Years of Longing follows scholar Alithea Binnie, who as the film begins is very content with her life. That is until Binnie comes across a Djinn (a genie) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. What transpires next is a very lengthy and expansive conversation between Binnie and the Djinn in a hotel room in Istanbul, leading to incredibly out-of-this-world stories and consequences that will change the trajectories of their lives forever. Miller has described Three Thousand Years as the "opposite" of Mad Max: Fury Road, or the "anti-Mad Max" to use his words verbatim. On paper, it is easy to surmise just how different the film is, with its singular focus on two characters talking in a hotel room for much of the film's narrative. Based on the trailers, however, Three Thousand Years suggests a visually lush world with crazy production design and extraordinary characters.

Three Thousand Years of Longing will be released exclusively in theaters on August 26, 2022. Keep reading below for a cast and character guide for what will surely be a wild new adventure from the eclectic, visionary genius that is George Miller.

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Related:‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’ Review: George Miller’s Latest Is Grandiose, Yet Thrives in the Quieter Moments

Idris Elba as Djinn

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Idris Elba plays the Djinn. In the film, the Djinn is looking to grant Binnie three wishes in exchange for his freedom. As the story progresses, the Djinn and Binnie begin to share a romantic kinship, which deepens their relationship as well as the complexity of the Djinn's desire to be freed. The more the Djinn opens up to Binnie over the course of one evening in Istanbul, revealing details of his complicated past involving empowerment and entrapment, the more complex his dynamic with Binnie becomes. The Djinn feels like he has had misfortune after misfortune in his life, a string of unlucky occurrences that have led him down this unfortunate path. In this case, the Djinn has met his match with Binnie, who questions the very logic of his decisions with each yarn he unravels for her.

Elba has appeared in such films as American Gangster, Prometheus, and Pacific Rim. He also played the villain Krall in Star Trek Beyond. He is most known to superhero fans for playing Heimdall in the Thor and Avengers films as well as for playing Bloodsport in the DCEU property The Suicide Squad.

Tilda Swinton as Alithea Binnie

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The character of Alithea Binnie is played by Tilda Swinton. Binnie is a narratologist, a person who studies narrative and narrative structure in stories and literature. Binnie is quite content with life, exactly the opposite of someone who would want three wishes at all. As a narratologist, Binnie is also an expert at deciphering and predicting narrative structure. When Binnie picks up a bottle trinket from the city's bazaar and the Djinn materializes to grant her three wishes, Binnie is naturally very cognizant of the structure of such stories. Referring to them as "cautionary tales", Binnie has no need for said wishes and no need for the Djinn. This launches the Djinn into stories about his past, hoping to convince Binnie otherwise. With each story the Djinn unspools to Binnie and the more she discovers about him, she begins to believe there's more to this particular genie than she originally anticipated. Alyla Brown plays the younger Alithea Binnie in the film.

Swinton has quite the filmography, with appearances in such films as Vanilla Sky, Adaptation, We Need To Talk About Kevin, and Only Lovers Left Alive. Similar to Elba, MCU fans might recognize Swinton as the Ancient One from Doctor Strange and Avengers: Endgame. In 2021, Swinton appeared in Wes Anderson's anthology film The French Dispatch.

Aamito Lagum as The Queen of Sheba

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Aamito Lagum plays The Queen of Sheba, a figure first referenced in the Hebrew Bible. In the original text of the story, the Queen brings a caravan of valuable gifts to King Solomon. According to Miller, there is no historical record of the Queen of Sheba. In his words, "she's in mythology more than she is in history." That allowed Miller and co-writer Augusta Gore to create their own fantastical interpretation of the Queen, who has a direct relationship with the Djinn and his past in the film. The Queen is featured in the many fantastical flashbacks of stories that the Djinn tells Binnie during the course of their evening in Istanbul.

Lagum is best known for being the first winner of Africa's Next Top Model. Lagum has also appeared in marketing for such companies as Hugo Boss, H&M, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Related:'Three Thousand Years of Longing' Featurette Goes Inside George Miller's Fantastical World

Matteo Bocelli as Prince Mustafa

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Prince Mustafa is played by Matteo Bocelli. Prince Mustafa is a recurring "cast member" of the Djinn's stories that Alithea visualizes in her mind. Similar to the Queen of Sheba, the Djinn has dealings with Prince Mustafa that have very personal ties to his past. The Prince is known in the Djinn's particular telling of his story to ride a white horse with a pink mane, which becomes a visual signifier of the Prince in the film. This particular motif is actually not fantasy but rooted in history. Horses in 19th century Turkey often had their manes dyed pink, yet another layer to the story where Miller blends history with mythological fiction. Bocelli is a renowned Italian composer and the son of Italian operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli. Three Thousand Years of Longing is Bocelli's first film credit as an actor.

Kaan Guldur as Murad IV

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Kaan Guldur plays Murad IV, who was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for decades. As an adult, Murad was known for his brutality and authoritarian nature. He was ruthless towards those he fought and relentlessly cold to those who served under him. In Three Thousand Years of Longing, he is first introduced as a child who has yet to become the Sultan from the history books. Guldur has made appearances in Thor: Love and Thunder, Aquaman, and the TV series Preacher.

The decision to explore Murad as a child is yet another distinct way in which Miller blends historical fact with fiction, delving into a facet of Murad that is often not portrayed in stories, film, or literature. The careful, but deliberate blending between fact and unique narrative creation is what makes Three Thousand Years of Longing such an intriguing premise for a fantasy film.