Since the release of Mad Max: Fury Road, director George Miller kept saying he had one little movie to finish before diving back into that world. Some small little thing he wanted to do. It stars Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton. It’s called Three Thousand Years of Longing. And no, he wouldn’t say what it’s about.
Well, now, ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, the first trailer for Miller’s latest is out, and well, damn. It’s not a small movie. Three Thousand Years of Longing is about a lonely woman (Swinton) who happens to find a genie (Elba) in a lamp who will grant her three wishes. But what happens after that? Only the twisted mind of George Miller knows. Check out the trailer.
Swinton’s character says it best. No story of a character with three wishes ever ends up happy. It’s always a cautionary tale, which is one of the many reasons why this trailer is so fascinating. Are any of the sumptuous images we’re seeing related to wishes? Are she and the genie just weighing the options? That she decides to make a wish at the end of the trailer almost makes it seem like she’s debating it — but really, who knows?
What we do know is that the director of Fury Road isn’t shying away from all manner of filmmaking delights here, not just in the casting of the phenomenal Swinton and Elba. The costumes, the visual effects, the sets, the camera moves — everything we’re seeing that’s revealed in this trailer — certainly hint at something quite grand. Maybe not Doof Warrior playing guitar on the front of a massive truck grand, but Miller will get back to that in the coming months.
For now, Three Thousand Years of Longing will debut at the Cannes Film Festival ahead of its August 31 release date.
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Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.