When Disney announced they were finally putting Madeleine L'Engle's 1962 classic on the big screen with a 100 million dollar budget, everyone lost their minds. It wasn't just the money. It was the people. Honestly, looking back at the A Wrinkle in Time cast, it feels like a fever dream of talent that should have been an easy home run. You had Oprah. You had Reese Witherspoon. You had Mindy Kaling. It was a lineup that felt less like a movie cast and more like a gathering of the most powerful women in the universe.
Yet, the 2018 film directed by Ava DuVernay remains one of those weirdly polarizing artifacts of modern cinema. Some kids absolutely adore the visual splendor, while critics mostly scratched their heads.
The story follows Meg Murry, a middle schooler struggling with her father’s disappearance. Alongside her brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin, she’s guided by three celestial beings—Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who—across the universe to find him. It’s a heavy, weird, metaphysical journey. Casting it required finding a balance between literal gods and grounded, messy humans.
The Celestial Trio: Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who
Let’s talk about the heavy hitters first because they were the face of every single poster. Oprah Winfrey played Mrs. Which. When you think about it, who else are you going to cast as a cosmic entity who is basically a giant made of pure light? DuVernay has talked about how she needed someone who commanded instant authority. Oprah didn't just play a mentor; she played a being that felt like the personification of the universe’s wisdom. She spent a lot of the movie literally towering over the other characters, often rendered as a shimmering, 30-foot-tall version of herself. It was grand. It was loud. It was very "Oprah."
Then you have Reese Witherspoon as Mrs. Whatsit.
She brought a certain frantic, youthful energy that balanced Oprah’s gravitas. Mrs. Whatsit is the most "human" of the three, the one who can’t quite get her earthly transformations right. Remember the scene where she turns into a giant flying leaf? That was Witherspoon. She played it with a mix of Ditzy Aunt and Ancient Protector.
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Mindy Kaling rounded out the trio as Mrs. Who. Her character was fascinating because she primarily communicated through the quotes of others—everyone from Shakespeare to Lin-Manuel Miranda. Kaling’s performance was quieter, more rhythmic. It was a departure from her usual fast-talking, comedic roles in The Mindy Project or The Office. She had to convey depth while barely using her own "voice."
Storm Reid and the Weight of Meg Murry
The entire movie rests on Storm Reid. If Meg doesn't work, the movie collapses. At the time, Reid was a relatively fresh face, and the pressure was massive. Representing a beloved literary icon like Meg Murry—especially as a young Black girl in a role originally written without a specific race in mind—was a huge cultural moment.
Reid’s performance is actually one of the most defended parts of the film. She captured that specific brand of adolescent "I hate myself" energy perfectly. She wasn't a polished Disney kid; she was messy and had flyaway hair and looked genuinely terrified half the time. That authenticity is what makes the emotional beats work, even when the CGI behind her is getting a bit chaotic.
The Supporting Players: Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw
A lot of people forget that Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw played the parents. Pine, as Dr. Alex Murry, had a difficult job. He had to spend most of the movie being a "concept"—the missing father—and then show up as a broken, somewhat selfish man who chose his work over his family. It wasn't the typical "hero dad" role. He looked haggard. He looked like a man who had been trapped in a dark dimension for four years.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dr. Kate Murry was, frankly, underused. She’s a phenomenal actress (if you haven’t seen San Junipero or Loki, go watch them now), and here she mostly played the grieving but hopeful mother. Her chemistry with Reid felt real, though. You believed they were a family unit that had been shattered.
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Then there’s the kids.
Deric McCabe played Charles Wallace Murry. Finding a child actor who can play a "genius" without being annoying is basically the impossible task of Hollywood. McCabe had the hardest job in the A Wrinkle in Time cast because he eventually had to play the "It"—the personification of evil that takes over his mind. Seeing a tiny kid act like a cold, calculating villain was definitely a choice. It worked for some; for others, it felt a bit over the top. Levi Miller played Calvin O'Keefe, the popular kid who joins them. Miller did fine, but the script didn't give him much to do other than be Meg’s emotional support human.
The Weird Side Characters You Probably Forgot
Did you remember Zach Galifianakis was in this? He played the Happy Medium.
It was a strange performance. He lived in a cave and did yoga to find balance. It was one of the few moments where the movie leaned into the "hippie" vibes of the original 1960s source material. Then there was Michael Peña as Red, the man with the red eyes. He was creepy in that specific way Peña does so well—smiling while saying something absolutely terrifying.
Why the A Wrinkle in Time Cast Matters in Retrospect
The film didn't do great at the box office. It’s categorized as a "flop" by most industry standards, losing Disney quite a bit of money. But if you look at the A Wrinkle in Time cast through a 2026 lens, you see a massive shift in how Hollywood thinks about casting.
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It was a bold experiment in representation.
Before this, big-budget sci-fi/fantasy was almost exclusively white. DuVernay’s decision to cast a diverse group of women as the three Mrs. beings and a biracial family at the center changed the "default" for these kinds of adaptations. You can see the DNA of this casting in later projects like The Little Mermaid or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
The Script vs. The Talent
The biggest tragedy for this cast was arguably the script. You have these incredible actors, but the dialogue often felt like a series of motivational posters.
- Oprah: "Be a warrior!"
- Reese: "Find your place!"
- Mindy: "As some famous guy once said..."
It lacked the "crunch" of the book. L'Engle's book is actually quite dark and weirdly Christian-adjacent in its philosophy, whereas the movie felt more like a New Age self-help book. The cast did their best with what they had, but when your actors are essentially playing metaphors instead of people, it’s hard to make the audience feel a deep connection.
Fun Facts and Casting Trivia
- Amy Adams was originally rumored for one of the roles before the final trio was locked in.
- Storm Reid grew several inches during filming, which is why her height seems to fluctuate slightly between certain scenes.
- The costumes were designed by Paco Delgado and were so heavy that Oprah and the others could barely move in some of the shots.
Making Sense of the Legacy
If you're going to rewatch it, don't look for a perfect plot. Look at the performances. Chris Pine’s transition from a hopeful scientist to a man crushed by his own failure is actually some of his best work. Storm Reid’s ability to carry a movie of this scale at age 14 is nothing short of a miracle.
Actionable Insights for Movie Lovers:
- Watch the "Camels" scene again: It’s the moment Reese Witherspoon’s character transforms. Even if you don't like the CGI, the sheer imagination in the costume and color palette is worth a second look.
- Compare it to the 2003 TV movie: If you think the 2018 version is weird, the 2003 ABC version is an absolute trip. It’s much more low-budget and follows the book a bit more literally in some ways, but loses the scale.
- Follow the cast’s trajectory: Since this movie, Storm Reid has become a powerhouse in Euphoria and The Last of Us. Seeing where she started in Wrinkle gives you a lot of respect for her growth.
- Read the graphic novel: If the movie felt too "bright" for you, the graphic novel adaptation by Hope Larson captures the darker, more eerie tone of the original book that this cast was trying to emulate.
The A Wrinkle in Time cast was a collection of titans that didn't quite fit into the vessel they were given. It happens. But as a piece of cultural history, it remains a fascinating look at what happens when you give a visionary director $100 million and the most famous women in the world to tell a story about a girl who just wants her dad back.