Keith GirardStorm Reid, best known for her role in “12 Years a Slave,” has been picked to star as Meg Murry, in Disney’s adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel “A Wrinkle in Time.” Canadian actress Katie Stuart starred in the original 2003 adaptation.
“A Wrinkle in Time” was written by Madeleine L’Engle, and first published in 1963. A television movie based on the book was made 40 years later.
The initial movie premiered at the Toronto Children’s Film Festival in 2003. It won the festival’s Best Feature Film Award.
Back then, the cast was all white like the book, except for the part of Mrs. Whatsit, who was played by African-American actress Alfre Woodard.
Reid’s selection confirms that Disney plans to feature the Murrys as a mixed-race family. Another non-white actor is being cast as Calvin. In the novel, he is white with red hair.
The book was controversial for its time because the protagonist was female, virtually unheard of for a science fiction book, L’Engle once said. It was rejected by “forty-odd” publishers before making it onto book shelves.
But the book proved to be hugely popular and has never gone out of print. L’Engle went on to write three more related books in a “Time Quintet” series.
In the new Disney production, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling will co-star in the Disney movie. They will play Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who, respectively.
Ava DuVernay is directing based on a script by Jennifer Lee, who wrote and co-directed “Frozen” with Chris Buck, according to Variety.
DuVernay the first African-American woman to direct a live-action movie with a budget of more than $100 million, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Reid, 13, debuted on the big-screen in “12 Years a Slave.” She also will appear in the television movie “American Girl: Lea to the Rescue” and the sci-fi pic “Sleight.”
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