Lionsgate has released the first trailer for White Bird: A Wonder Story, the companion film for Stephen Chbosky’s 2017 film Wonder. White Bird is directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) and is based on the novel by R.J. Palacio.
Wonder was adapted into the 2017 film and starred Owen Wilson and Julia Roberts and told the story of a young boy with a distinct facial difference who started attending the fifth grade at a mainstream elementary school. The movie advanced a message for people to think differently about physical differences and was the incentive for the movement to “choose kind”.
White Bird: A Wonder Story serves as a spin-off sequel/prequel to the original Wonder film. The film centers around Julian, who has been struggling to belong ever since he was expelled from his old school for his treatment of August Pullman, the protagonist of the first film. In the trailer, we see Julian’s grandmother, played by veteran actress Helen Mirren, remind him why he was expelled from his previous school: “for being cruel to another boy”. To help him change and see the world differently, his grandmother decides to reveal to Julian her own personal story of when she was a young girl. In the trailer, Mirren’s character admits that this is a painful memory for her but because she wants to help her grandson, she believes that it’s time to share it.
The setting for her story is Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War, and she tells Julian about a boy who saved her from a likely fatal situation. The two live a tale of first love in a beautiful fantasy world of their own creation. In the trailer, she explains that what made them connect was that they had both seen the hatred that others were capable of. The trailer shows us a young version of the grandmother being mistreated by her peers at school due to her Jewish heritage. It takes a lot of courage to be kind, and it is this tale of kindness and courage that she will be sharing with her troubled grandson. Like Wonder before it, this is an uplifting movie about how one act of kindness can endure the test of time and forever remain in people’s memories.
The script was penned by Mark Bomback. Other members of the cast that star alongside Mirren are Bryce Gheisar as Julian, Gillian Anderson as Vivienne, Olivia Ross as Rose, Orlando Schwerdt as Julien, Ariella Glaser as Sara, and Ishai Golan as Max.
White Bird: A Wonder Story is a Lionsgate/Mandeville Films production, in association with 2DUX2 Productions. It will premiere in theaters on October 14. Check out the trailer below: