Olivia Colman’s Bizarre New Sundance Romance ‘Wicker’ Just Got Its First Posters, and They’re as Wild as You’d Expect

Not every love story starts with a meet-cute at a coffee shop, and this next film from Black Bear Pictures is proof of just how far that premise can be stretched. Fresh off a rapturous reception at Sundance earlier this year, one of the festival’s strangest and most talked-about romances is finally gearing up for its theatrical debut.

‘Wicker‘ first made waves back in January when it premiered to a standing ovation, quickly becoming one of the buzziest acquisitions of the festival. Directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, the film adapts Ursula Wills-Jones’ short story “The Wicker Husband” into what’s been described as an audacious comedic fable exploring sex, marriage, and the absurdities of small-town social convention.

Ahead of its October release, the film’s first official posters have now arrived, giving audiences their clearest look yet at its unconventional premise. The artwork leans heavily into the film’s namesake material, with tightly woven basket textures wrapped around close-up shots of hands and faces, visually reinforcing just how central the wicker husband concept is to the entire story.

At the center of that story is Olivia Colman, who plays an ostracized fisherwoman living on the fringes of a small seaside village, mocked relentlessly by her neighbors for being unmarried. Fed up with the constant ridicule, she commissions the village’s basketmaker, played by Peter Dinklage, to build her a husband entirely out of wicker.

That husband comes to life in the form of Alexander Skarsgård, whose devoted, almost overly attentive nature toward Colman’s character ends up disrupting the village’s rigid traditions in increasingly chaotic ways. Elizabeth Debicki rounds out the film’s central cast as the Tailor’s Wife, adding another layer of small-town tension to the story’s growing web of jealousy and social upheaval.

Skarsgård’s casting itself came together somewhat unexpectedly, stepping into a role originally intended for Dev Patel when the project was first announced back in 2023. That shift ultimately placed Skarsgård alongside a cast stacked with award pedigree, including an Academy Award winner in Colman and Emmy winners in both Dinklage and Debicki.

Black Bear has set ‘Wicker’ for a limited theatrical release on October 23, followed by a wider national expansion the following week on October 30. The film will also arrive in UK and Irish cinemas on October 30, giving international audiences a chance to catch the film around the same time as its broader U.S. rollout.

Critical reaction out of Sundance was overwhelmingly positive, with early reviews praising the film’s mix of absurdist comedy and genuine emotional warmth. Much of that praise centered on Colman’s performance, which several reviewers singled out as one of her more subtly layered comedic turns, alongside Skarsgård’s charm in bringing an inanimate creation to unexpectedly tender life.

The film also marks something of a reunion moment for fans of ‘The Crown,’ since both Colman and Debicki previously played Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana respectively during different seasons of that Netflix series, despite never actually appearing on screen together. Seeing the two share scenes in ‘Wicker’ offers a rare chance to watch that unrealized pairing finally play out.

With its Sundance buzz still fresh and a stacked, awards-caliber cast leading the charge, ‘Wicker’ looks positioned to be one of the more distinctive theatrical releases of the fall season. Whether mainstream audiences embrace its offbeat premise the same way festival crowds did remains to be seen once it finally opens wide.

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