BFG is an acronym for Big Friendly Giant, who is the cornerstone of the film. Shown in the teaser scaring a few cats and sticking his hand through an open window to capture a girl, the giant will be played by previous Spielberg collaborator Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall).
The plot of The BFG centers around a giant who was banned from his community because of a refusal to eat people — and children in particular. The film tells the story of the giant character and an orphan named Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), who can be seen being (presumably) captured in the trailer.
The BFG is based off of the popular 1982 children’s book by Roald Dahl of the same name. The book was previously made into a British animated TV movie in the late 1980s, but has never been adapted for theater release.
The cast includes actors Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, and Rebecca Hall.
The follow-up project to this year’s critically-acclaimed Cold War drama Bridge of Spies, The BFG is a decidedly more family-friendly film from the director, in a similar vein to previous family films from the director like Tintin and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial.
In fact, the script was actually penned by the same writer as E.T., Melissa Mathison, who passed away of cancer in November. Mathison won her only Academy Award for the E.T. screenplay. Music for the film was written by legendary composer John Williams, whose previous work (in case you didn’t know) has been featured in Harry Potter, Super Man, and Star Wars franchises (among multiple other films), and won him numerous awards worldwide.
With a legendary screenwriter and composer working on the project, and a cast of critically-acclaimed actors, The BFG is likely headed to box-office success, something with which Spielberg has had plenty of experience.
The BFG will be a summer release next year, hitting theaters on July 1, 2016.
