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Jenna Ortega Steps Out for the ‘Klara and the Sun’ Photocall as Taika Waititi’s Long-Shelved Sci-Fi Finally Arrives

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Jenna Ortega has spent the past few years becoming one of Hollywood’s go-to names for gothic and horror roles, so any appearance that shows a softer side tends to get noticed. Her latest red carpet moment is no exception, and it arrives right as one of her most unusual projects finally reaches audiences.

That project is ‘Klara and the Sun‘, Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s bestselling novel. The film was announced in 2020 and finished shooting in April 2024, but Sony kept it on the shelf for more than 2 years before setting an October release.

Now the cast is out promoting it. Ortega appeared at the film’s photocall in a white top with bright yellow sleeves and a black collar, paired with a black skirt and her hair pulled back. The look is a clear departure from the dark palettes fans associate with her, and it fits a character who is far from Wednesday Addams.

The movie gets its first big public showing at the 70th BFI London Film Festival, where it is a headline gala on October 15. It then opens in the US on October 23, with Australia and New Zealand getting it a day earlier. The festival has described it as a luminous adaptation in which Ortega plays an enthusiastic artificial friend desperate to find a loving home.

The story follows Klara, an Artificial Friend who is chosen by Josie, played by Mia Tharia, and takes on the job of bringing joy into the girl’s life. Josie has a fraught relationship with her domineering mother, played by Amy Adams, and the family has suffered great loss. Waititi wrote the screenplay with Dahvi Waller.

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Klara is described as optimistic, sincere, curious and emotionally open, which is about as far from Wednesday’s guarded persona as an actor can get. Waititi has said it is his most dramatic and challenging work to date, and that early attempts to add comedy to the script did not work. He also said he wanted to draw on Ortega’s real-life charm and humor rather than her established on-screen persona.

The supporting cast is stacked. Natasha Lyonne plays an artificial friend store manager, and Steve Buscemi, Simon Baker and Aran Murphy are also featured. Michael Giacchino, a longtime Waititi collaborator, handles the score.

The commercial picture is more modest. Boxoffice Pro’s early tracking projects a domestic opening of $6 million to $10 million, and notes that the film is not based on genre IP with cross-generational appeal like Ortega’s biggest hits. Those include ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, which opened to $111 million domestically, and 2 ‘Scream’ sequels that opened to $30 million and $44.4 million.

The forecast suggests the cultural cachet of Ishiguro could help it beat the $5.7 million opening of Ortega’s dark comedy ‘Death of a Unicorn’. It also faces crowded competition on its release weekend, including ‘Clayface’, ‘Wildwood’ and ‘Ali G: Who Iz I?’.

Even so, the film offers Ortega a chance to prove she can carry a quieter, more emotional story. After a long wait, audiences will soon find out whether Waititi’s gentle sci-fi was worth it.

Are You Excited to See Jenna Ortega in Klara and the Sun?

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