Audiences were pretty clear on what kind of movies A24 would deliver, but the studio has since been expanding to accommodate different genres—like this year’s Civil War from Alex Garland. Now they want to move into magic-realism/kid-friendly territory, and they’ve dropped the first trailer for The Legend of Ochi starring Isaiah Saxon, Finn Wolfhard, Willem Dafoe, and Emily Watson.
Check the new trailer for The Legend of Ochi right here:
This looks to be the feature-length movie debut of director Isaiah Saxon, who does seem to have a penchant for colourful fantasy creatures.
Storywise, it does look like the usual fantasy trope of ‘a child saving a weird creature that the adults have told her all her life was dangerous’ which we’ve seen in a few films already like E.T., Pete’s Dragon, and Iron Giant. TV Tropes actually calls this trope “Humans are the Real Monsters”.
Though the trope has been seen time and again, the A24 branding does come with the promise of sweeping visuals and overall artsy vibe—which is pretty much showcased in the trailer.
Plus, it looks like The Legend of Ochi is supposed to be in a modern setting, but Willem Dafoe is running around in fantasy armor, so that should make for a very interesting story.
I also think it’s fascinating that Finn Wolfhard should be cast in the film, since his big break, Stranger Things was also considered to be a pseudo-remake of E.T.—only Wolfhard’s E.T. was a stranger girl named Eleven played by Millie Bobby Brown.
The Legend of Ochi is expected to hit theatres on March 27, 2025.
