Disney has released an official trailer for Kenneth Branagh's Artemis Fowl movie. The film adaptation of Eoin Colfer's sci-fi fantasy novels has been in development since as far back as 2001 (where the original Artemis Fowl was published), but didn't really start to move forward until Branagh signed onto to direct for Disney in 2015. The studio had originally planned to release Artemis Fowl in theaters last summer and even got an early start on marketing when it dropped the teaser trailer in November of 2018. Ultimately, however, the film was postponed to 2020 as a result of the changes to Disney's schedule following its acquisition of Fox.
Despite the delay, there haven't been any signs of trouble or reports of any kind of reshoots on Artemis Fowl. By the look of things, Disney has simply been waiting to recommence its marketing a little closer to the film's arrival in May. Now, the studio has gone and dropped an official trailer online, and (by no accident) just in time for it to begin screening in theaters with Pixar's animated fantasy adventure Onward later this week.
You can check out the full-length trailer for Artemis Fowl below. Disney has also unveiled a brand-new poster spotlighting the film's cast, which we've included here.
Written for the screen by playwright Conor McPherson and actor-writer Hamish McColl (Paddington), the movie follows the adventures of Artemis Fowl II (Ferdia Shaw), a brilliant 12-year old who discovers he's descended from a long line of criminal masterminds after his father, Artemis Fowl I (Colin Farrell), suddenly goes missing in connection to an ancient yet advanced underground civilization of fairies and fantastical creatures. In addition to offering glimpses of that world, the trailer introduces a number of key players from the film, beginning with Artemis and his dad. The pair are joined here by Nonso Anozie (Cinderella) as Butler, Artemis' servant and bodyguard, in addition to Josh Gad (Frozen II) as Mulch Diggums, a giant dwarf employed by Artemis' father, and Lara McDonnell (Love, Rose) as Holly Short, Artemis' ally and an officer of the Lower Elements Police (aka. LEPrecon). Judi Dench and Hong Chau similarly show up in the trailer as, respectively, Holly's boss Commander Root and a fairy who, thanks to Artemis, is able to regain her powers of rejuvenation.
For those unfamiliar with Colfer's books, the trailer probably makes Artemis Fowl seem like a mashup of other franchises (namely, Harry Potter and Men in Black). The trailer also makes Artemis out to be more of a generic chosen one/superhero in the making than the ruthless and brilliant antihero he was in the novels, which does raise concerns about the movie removing much of what made its source material unique in the first place. Likewise, Disney hasn't had a lot of luck when it comes to their recent live-action non-remakes (either critically or at the box office), and there's definitely a risk Artemis Fowl is hitting the scene too late after the novels finished their run back in 2012. Still, the film looks as visually striking as Branagh's big-budget efforts in the past and hints at some fascinating world-building, so here's to hoping it delivers the goods.
Source: Disney
