If a Djinn had granted us three wishes, we might very well have spent one conjuring Three Thousand Years of Longing, the new flick from Mad Max mastermind George Miller. It stars Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, and the full trailer is out now.
Swinton has been cast as Dr. Alithea Binnie, a levelheaded academic who doesn’t believe in magical nonsense. But while attending a conference in Istanbul, she chances upon an ancient Djinn (Elba), who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.
According to the official logline, “This presents two problems. First, she doubts that he is real and second, because she is a scholar of story and mythology, she knows all the cautionary tales of wishes gone wrong. The Djinn pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past. Eventually she is beguiled and makes a wish that surprises them both.”
Three Thousand Years of Longing is based on the 1994 short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by A.S. Byatt. Miller co-wrote the screenplay with Augusta Gore, though she might not have been very taxed by the assignment, since so many of Miller’s best films have almost no dialogue at all.
We won’t know if it’s good until it’s released into theaters on August 31st, but one thing is certain based on the trailer, this movie look absolutely stunning from a visual perspective. Watch the trailer below.
Up next for Miller is the Mad Max: Fury Road spinoff Furiosa, which is now set for May of 2024. Meanwhile, Elba recently voiced Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and may be heading for Paramount+ as part of the live-action Knuckles spinoff series, while Swinton starred in Wes Anderson’s new film The French Dispatch.
Ed. Note: This article has been updated with the film’s full trailer.
