A Night to Remember at the DGA Theater
Hollywood rolled out the red carpet on Monday evening for Wicker, the gloriously strange new film from writing and directing duo Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, as the picture's extraordinary cast descended on the DGA Theater in Los Angeles ahead of its US theatrical release on 23rd October 2026.
Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, and Elizabeth Debicki led the celebrations at what was already shaping up to be one of the most talked-about premieres of the awards season. Producers including Tim Headington, Justin Lothrop, and Brad Zimmerman were also in attendance, along with the film's directors, making it a proper full-company affair.
And in one of the evening's more delightful surprises, Alexander's brother Bill Skarsgård turned out to support him — proof, if any were needed, that this particular family produces an unfair share of the world's most compelling screen presences.
What on Earth Is Wicker?
If you haven't yet heard of Wicker, prepare yourself — because it is not like anything else arriving in cinemas this autumn. Based on the short story The Wicker Husband by Ursula Wills, the film is described as an audacious comedic fable about sex, marriage, and the absurdities of social convention.
Colman plays an ostracised fisherwoman who commissions a husband to be built by the local basketmaker, played by Peter Dinklage. That husband — Alexander Skarsgård's title character — turns out to be rather more magnificent than anticipated, and his arrival sends the village into a spiral of jealousy, fascination, and outright upheaval.
His soulful spirit and unique prowess awaken something inside her, setting off a wave of jealousy, fascination, and upheaval that threatens the very fabric of village life.
It sounds bonkers. It sounds brilliant. It sounds, frankly, like exactly the kind of original storytelling that the film industry needs right now.
The Remarkable Craft Behind the Camera
What makes Wicker particularly fascinating from a technical standpoint is that Skarsgård's wicker husband character was realised entirely through a practical suit — no CGI shortcuts here. That suit was created by Joe Dunckley and the legendary Wētā Workshop, the New Zealand-based effects house responsible for work on Avatar and The Lord of the Rings franchise. The commitment to tangible, hands-on craft feels entirely in keeping with a film built around basketmaking and village life.
The rest of the production is no less impressive. Cinematography comes courtesy of Lol Crawley, who also shot The Brutalist, while production design was handled by Renátó Cseh, who worked on Poor Things — a film whose own eccentric visual world makes it a rather fitting predecessor. The score was composed by Anna Meredith, and costumes were created by Tóth András Dániel and Attila Godena-Juhász.
Colman at the Centre of It All
It is, of course, Olivia Colman who anchors the whole enterprise, and few actors working today could make a story quite this peculiar feel so emotionally grounded. The Academy Award winner serves not just as the film's lead but also as one of its producers — a sign of how much she believed in the project from the outset.
Colman plays an ostracised fisherwoman who commissions a husband to be made by the local basketmaker — and when he proves more spectacular than imagined, nothing in the village will ever be the same.
Colman and Skarsgård on screen together is already a prospect worth clearing your diary for. Add Elizabeth Debicki, Peter Dinklage, a fully practical wicker suit, and the creative team behind two of recent cinema's most visually inventive films, and Wicker has the makings of something genuinely special.
Wicker opens in US theatres on 23rd October 2026. A UK release date has not yet been confirmed, but given the British pedigree at the heart of this one, it surely cannot be far behind.
