Fox Searchlight had been planning to give the “female Frankenstein” story Poor Things, which stars Emma Stone (Cruella), a theatrical release on September 8th – but that plan has changed. While the film is still scheduled to have its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in August, The Wrap reports that the proper theatrical release has been pushed back to December 8th. So now we have an extra three months to wait for this one.
Scripted by Tony McNamara and based on a novel by Alasdair Gray (pick up a copy HERE), the film is described as being the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn, a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Stone is joined in the cast by Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home) as Dr. Godwin Baxter and Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers) as Duncan Wedderburn. Ramy Youssef (Ramy), Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show), Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Suzy Bemba (Kandisha), and Christopher Abbott (Possessor) are also in the cast.
Stone earned an Oscar nomination for her role in Lanthimos’s film The Favourite, and Poor Things brings them back together. In a Vogue interview, Lanthimos revealed that he has been wanting to make Poor Things for several years, going back to the days before his 2015 film The Lobster, and had been talking to Stone about the project since they were working on The Favourite together. Since wrapping on Poor Things, they have already collaborated on another film called And.
When we first heard about Poor Things, all we knew about the story was that it was called a “female Frankenstein” story because after drowning herself to escape her abusive husband, Bella’s brain is replaced by that of her unborn child. We learned more by looking up the description of Gray’s novel, and that description goes along with the full synopsis the film has now. Reviews from readers have indicated that the novel is incredibly weird, and judging by the marketing materials that certainly appears to be an element that Lanthimos has successfully translated to the screen.
Are you looking forward to Poor Things, and are you disappointed to hear that it has been pushed back to December? Let us know by leaving a comment below.