Joel Edgerton, Michael Shannon, and Kirsten Dunst in ‘Midnight Special’ (Photo © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)The new trailer for Warner Bros Pictures’ Midnight Special delves further into the sci-fi world created by writer/director Jeff Nichols (Mud). In Nichols’ sci-fi thriller, Michael Shannon (99 Homes, Batman v Superman) stars as a protective father and Jaeden Lieberher play his young son who has unique powers. The cast also includes Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Adam Driver, The Gift‘s Joel Edgerton, Fargo‘s Kirsten Dunst, Sam Shepard, Bill Camp, Scott Haze, and Paul Sparks. Glen Basner, Hans Graffunder, and Christos V. Konstantakopoulos are the executive producers, and Sarah Green and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones produced. Midnight Special opens in theaters on March 18, 2016.
Midnight Special premiered at the Berlin Film Festival where it earned positive reviews, including one from The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney who says Nichols is one of the most compelling current filmmakers. “Nichols is in supreme control as he establishes tension and then progressively tightens the story’s hold,” said Rooney. Variety’s Peter Dubrege was also impressed with the film. “Midnight Special demonstrates once and for all that indie auteur Jeff Nichols is now the go-to storyteller for the kind of slow-burn supernatural thrill audiences once sought from M. Night Shyamalan,” writes Debruge in his review.
The Plot: Michael Shannon plays a father who goes on the run to protect his young son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), and uncover the truth behind the boy’s special powers. What starts as a race from religious extremists and local law enforcement quickly escalates to a nationwide manhunt involving the highest levels of the Federal Government. Ultimately his father risks everything to protect Alton and help fulfill a destiny that could change the world forever, in this genre–defying film as supernatural as it is intimately human.
