The first teaser for Three Thousand Years of Longing from director George Miller has dropped, providing us with our first proper look at the upcoming fantasy epic.
Based on A.S. Byatt's short story, "The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye", the movie stars Tilda Swinton as an academic who encounters a Djinn, played by Idris Elba, while attending a conference in Istanbul. He offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. The Djinn pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past – eventually, she is convinced and makes a wish that surprises them both.
The teaser is only 19 seconds long, but bombards us with a flurry of images in swift succession, including what appears to be a battle scene and a beheading, as well as the promise that the movie comes from the "mad genius" of Miller.
This is Miller's first movie since 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road and reunites the filmmaker with other creatives from that movie, including composer Tom Holkenborg, editor Margaret Sixel, and director of photography John Seale.
Miller is also working on a Fury Road prequel movie, Furiosa, about Charlize Theron's character, which is due to be released in 2024. The younger version of the war captain will be played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke will also star.
Three Thousand Years of Longing premieres at this year's Cannes Film Festival, before arriving in theaters on August 31. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other upcoming movies that we think should be on your radar.
