Ava DuVernay is undoubtedly one of the most exciting filmmakers to emerge in the last few years. A former marketing professional, she won a fan of Roger Ebert with her first feature, before winning a directing award from Sundance for “Middle Of Nowhere,” and then landing her studio debut with the brilliant “Selma,” which won a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a Best Original Song Oscar (and should have gotten much more).
The latter in particular has made her one of the busiest directors around — only last night, her acclaimed TV series “Queen Sugar” premiered on OWN, and in a couple of weeks, her documentary “The 13th” will open the NYFF before hitting Netflix. As for her next fiction feature, a few projects have come and gone (including a flirtation with “Black Panther”), but she finally settled on Disney’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved science-fiction novel “A Wrinkle In Time,” with a script penned by “Frozen” helmer Jennifer Lee. And she’s just added a couple of great talents to the cast.
READ MORE: Meet The Bordelon Family In New Trailer For Ava DuVernay’s TV Drama Series ‘Queen Sugar’
Friend and regular collaborator Oprah Winfrey was already said to be on board, and now The Hollywood Reporter say that Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling have come on to join her. Together, the three will play a group of supernatural beings who aid a young girl on an epic journey to find her missing father. Winfrey will play Mrs. Which, while Witherspoon will play Mrs. Whatsit, and Kaling Mrs. Who.
Shooting starts in November, with Witherspoon squeezing it in after indie “Home Again,” and Kaling juggling it with “Ocean’s Ocho,” Gary Ross’s all-female spin-off of “Ocean’s Eleven.” It’s great news all around, and we can’t wait to see who else Winfrey brings on (Kevin Hart was linked to the project early on). Hopefully we’ll see it in 2017.