EXCLUSIVE: Here’s your first chance to see the late Carrie Fisher in her final role before she passed away seven years ago.
“Are you the witch?,” asks an incredulous Kiera Milward as she encounters Fisher’s enigmatic Hazel in the fantasy drama in a Tuscan forest. “The witch, or a witch?” responds the Hollywood icon. Above, you can watch the first trailer for the long-gestating feature, which was filmed in 2016 shortly before the Star Wars actress passed away. We’ve also got a first-look poster below.
Fisher is later seen parlaying with Ora, who plays a world-renowned designer, Yana. “You know the rules,” says Ora. “The forest is yours, the town is mine.”
As we reported earlier this week, Fisher leads the cast of Wonderwell alongside Milward, singer and actress Ora (Fifty Shades of Grey), Nell Tiger Free (Servant) and Sebastian Croft (Heartstopper).
Set between contemporary Italy and a fantastical realm, the coming-of-age story follows Violet (Milward), an inquisitive girl living in Italy with her American parents and her beautiful older sister, Savannah (Tiger Free). When Savannah is selected to be the face of world-renowned designer Yana (Ora)’s fashion label, the family travels to an enchanting medieval village for a photo shoot. Neglected and bored, Violet wanders from the ancient Tuscan town into a nearby forest where she meets the enigmatic Hazel (Fisher), who warns her about Yana’s beleaguered stepson, Daniele (Croft). Guided by Hazel to a mysterious portal, Violet is offered a glimpse of what her future might hold.
Exclusive first look at ‘Wonderwell’ poster
As the trailer comes to a close, Hazel tells Violet: “Life can be just as magical as this garden, only it’s a lot more fun.”
Vertical has North America and UK/Ireland rights to Vlad Marsavin’s directorial debut and is lining up a limited theatrical run via AMC in the U.S. from next Friday (June 23), followed by a digital release.
There project took seven years to make and the production was described by Marsavin as “perilous.”
“The visual effects on a movie of this magnitude takes time, but we were challenged with Covid lockdowns and of course the passing of our wonderful Carrie Fisher,” he added. “Now is the perfect time to share her magical on screen moments as Hazel.”
Fisher passed away just six weeks after the shoot completed in 2016. The actress, daughter of fellow Hollywood stars Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds and mother of actress Billie Lourd, had filmed her part in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi before Wonderwell earlier that year. The Rise Of Skywalker VFX team would later use unused footage from The Force Awakens to bring Fisher back to screen in Episode IX.
