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Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s beloved dystopian sci-fi novel Klara and the Sun was first announced in 2020 and finished filming all the way back in April 2024, but Sony Pictures has only now finally pulled it off the shelf and announced an October 23 release date. The studio has also blessed us with a first trailer for the movie, which seems to have an odd tone but boasts a stellar cast that includes scream queen Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Natasha Lyonne, and Simon Baker.
Thor: Ragnarok director Waititi confirmed to Screen Daily in January of this year that he was still in talks with Sony about “when and where” Klara and the Sun would be released, adding that “festivals and stuff like that” were part of the movie’s outlook. It hasn’t been revealed which festivals are being targeted for preview screenings, but our best guess is the Toronto International Film Festival, which takes place in September. Waititi’s last movie, Next Goal Wins, also premiered there in 2023.
Here’s the official synopsis for Klara and the Sun:
“Klara (Jenna Ortega) is an Artificial Friend who wants nothing more than to find the perfect home. When Klara meets Josie (Mia Tharia), each immediately senses a kindred spirit in the other. Josie has a fraught relationship with her mother (Amy Adams) and they’ve suffered great loss, but Klara’s innocent wonder and unwavering loyalty begin to heal the family and bring light to Josie’s complicated world.”
You can take a look at the first trailer for the movie below…
It’s an interesting change of pace for Ortega, who seemed to have been aware that she’d found a bit of a niche as the “weird girl” in the likes of Wednesday, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, and The Babysitter: Killer Queen. Of course, since filming Klara and the Sun, Ortega has appeared in projects like Winter Spring Summer or Fall, and last year’s A24 fantasy movie Death of a Unicorn, but Klara and the Sun saw her break out of her mould at the time.
“Klara had just a pure, completely innocent, untainted optimism about her that you can’t find in a person of that age,” she told The New York Times. “Eventually you get older, and you’re a bit jaded or a bit scarred by certain things. You’ve learned a lot. You’ve maybe built a bit more of a wall. Klara didn’t have that wall, which is the complete opposite of a lot of the other characters I play where, you know, they hide who they are, or they don’t want their emotion to be seen. I just felt like it was a good place to be vulnerable and try something new.”
Klara and the Sun will be released in theatres on October 23.
The post Klara and the Sun Trailer: Scream Queen Jenna Ortega Tries Sci-Fi in Delayed Taika Waititi Movie appeared first on Den of Geek.
