JA Bayona's New Film 'A Monster Calls' Gets First Trailer One Year Early [Watch]
J.A. Bayona has revealed the trailer for his upcoming movie "A Monster Calls."
The Barcelona-born director, who came into the spotlight after directing the horror film "The Orphanage," is returning to the world of fantasy in his new film.
Featuring a star-studded cast that includes Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Liam Neeson and Sigourney Weaver, the new movie follows a 12-year-old who escapes into a fantasy world to avoid his real-life problems.
The trailer features a voiceover by Neeson, in which he narrates the story of an invisible man. Throughout the opening images, the viewer sees the main character Conor struggle with the hardships and loneliness around him. At the apex of the trailer, as Neeson tells him about the invisible man "calling for a monster," a massive hand storms into Conor's room and swoops him up.
Bayona's new project continues the Latino director's trend of employing mainly white actors in his feature films. Many major Latino filmmakers, such as Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu, have all gone from directing predominantly Spanish-speaking casts to mainly white cast members. Financing is a likely reason for this shift, but it also emphasizes that Latino representation remains an issue at large in Hollywood.
Bayona previously directed "The Impossible," which starred Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor; Watts earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in that film.
According to IMDb, Bayona is slated to direct the sequel to "World War Z" after finishing up "A Monster Calls." "World War Z 2" is slated to star Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane yet again.
According to IMDb, "A Monster Calls" is the second film to feature MacDougall, who appeared onscreen for the first time in the recent film "Pan," which was directed by Joe Wright.
"A Monster Calls" is slated for release in time for Halloween on Oct. 14, 2016, according to IMDb.
Watch the trailer below: