White Bird (film)
White Bird (also marketed with the subtitle A Wonder Story) is a 2023  American coming-of-age period drama film directed by Marc Forster from a screenplay by Mark Bomback, based on the 2019 graphic novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio. A spin-off, prequel and "companion piece" to Wonder (2017), the film stars Ariella Glaser, Orlando Schwerdt, Bryce Gheisar, Gillian Anderson and Helen Mirren, with Gheisar reprising his role as Julian from Wonder.

The film premiered at the 43rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 30, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the fourth quarter of 2023, by Lionsgate.

Premise
After the events of Wonder, Julian has left Beecher Prep for good. He is visited by his grandmother from Paris, who tells him stories of her childhood as a young Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, while being hidden from the Nazis by a distant classmate and his parents.

Cast
 Ariella Glaser as Sara Blum, a young Jewish girl living in Nazi-occupied France
 Helen Mirren as Older Sara / Grandmére, a renowned artist
 Orlando Schwerdt as Julien Beaumier, Sara's polio-lamed German classmate
 Bryce Gheisar as Julian Albans
 Gillian Anderson as Vivienne Beaumier, Julien's mother
 Jo Stone-Fewings as Jean-Paul Beaumier, Julien's father
 Patsy Ferran as Mille. Petitjean, Sara and Julien's teacher
 Stuart McQuarrie as Pastor Luc, the headmaster of Sara and Julien's school
 Olivia Ross as Rose Blum, Sara's mother
 Ishai Golan as Max Blum, Sara's father
 Jem Matthews as Vincent, Sara's crush
 Jordan Cramond as Jerome

Production

Development
In October 2019, Lionsgate acquired the rights to R.J. Palacio's White Bird: A Wonder Story. Palacio said "[t]he team at Lionsgate values artists and storytellers and has been crucial to expanding the fan community surrounding Wonder. They have been enormously supportive as I have been writing White Bird and I could not feel more secure that my new graphic novel is in the right creative hands at the right studio." The film is produced by Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman from Mandeville Films. Jeffrey Skoll and Robert Kissel from Participant executive produce. Marc Forster was announced as director with Mark Bomback writing and executive producing.

Casting
In February 2021, Bryce Gheisar was confirmed to reprise his role as Julian from the 2017 film Wonder, while Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson, Orlando Schwerdt and Ariella Glaser joined the cast.

Filming
Principal photography commenced in February 2021 in the Czech Republic.

Locations gallery

Release
White Bird: A Wonder Story was initially scheduled to be released on September 16, 2022, but was later delayed to October 14, 2022. In September 2022, Lionsgate removed the film from its release schedule.

In January 2023, it was announced White Bird was scheduled to debut in a limited release on August 18, 2023, followed by a wide release on August 25, 2023. However, in July 2023, as a result of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Lionsgate pushed the release to an unspecified date in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The film, presented as a "sneak preview", premiered at the 43rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival on July 30, 2023, with a taped introduction by producer Lieberman.

References

External links
 
 

2023 drama films
2023 films
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2020s war drama films
American prequel films
American war drama films
American World War II films
Film spin-offs
Films affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike
Films based on American comics
Films directed by Marc Forster
Films produced by David Hoberman
Films produced by Todd Lieberman
Films scored by Thomas Newman
Films set in France
Films shot in the Czech Republic
Films with screenplays by Mark Bomback
Lionsgate films
Live-action films based on comics
Mandeville Films films
Participant (company) films