Oprah Winfrey is reportedly in final negotiations to star in Ava DuVernay’s upcoming film A Wrinkle in Time, the latest teaming in what’s emerged as one of Hollywood’s more dynamic creative partnerships.
Based on Madeleine L’Engle’s 1963 novel, A Wrinkle in Time centers on Margaret “Meg” Murry, the 13-year-old daughter of a government scientist who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The film contends with such themes as conformity, loss, and truth, as seen and confronted through the eyes of a young woman who takes part in a mystical search for her missing father.
Oprah produced and took a small acting part in DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated Selma and is credited as a co-creator on her anticipated upcoming series Queen Sugar (which will fittingly debut on the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN). In A Wrinkle in Time, Oprah is set to play Mrs. Which, the leader of a group of three older (and supernatural) women who help Meg on her journey. Mrs. Which takes on the appearance of a witch and has a penchant for drawing out her speech—a quirk Oprah should be able to play rather convincingly.
DuVernay agreed in late February to direct the Disney-produced adaptation, which is written by the Oscar-winning Frozen co-director Jennifer Lee. It will be her first studio-backed film, and with other A-listers like Amy Adams and Kevin Hart reportedly circling, it should represent her most broadly appealing effort to date.
