The film will star Helen Mirren.
When the trailer for White Bird: A Wonder Story, the spin-off sequel/prequel film to Stephen Chbosky’s 2017 film Wonder was released last year, it expanded the world of R.J. Palacio’s original novel. Though it was initially set to release in 2022, Lionsgate pushed the release date back, and has now announced that it will instead hit theaters this August.
With Wonder making $305 million in worldwide box office and Palacio’s having sold more than 16 million copies of his books with editions published in 47 different languages, the companion film to the global hit will certainly draw a crowd to theaters this August. White Bird follows the story of the main antagonist in Wonder, Julian (Bryce Gheisar, Walk the Prank), as he struggles to find belonging after he was expelled from his last school for bullying Auggie Pullman (Jacob Tremblay, Room and Before I Wake).
In an attempt to help him see the world differently, Julian’s grandmother (played by veteran actress Helen Mirren) reveals her own story of courage. When she was a young girl in Nazi-occupied France, a classmate (Orlando Schwerdt, Children of the Corn) and his family sheltered her from mortal danger. The two discover first love in a magical world of their own creation while the boy’s mother (Gillian Anderson, Sex Education and The X Files) risks it all to keep her safe.
