After taking care to first secure the key roles of its three galaxy-spanning witches—in the form of Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling—Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle In Time has finally cast its primary lead. According to The Hollywood Reporter, DuVernay has selected 13-year-old actress Storm Reid to play Madeleine L’Engle’s prickly protagonist, Meg Murry, in the Disney film.
Reid’s been active since 2012, and had her first wide exposure with a small role in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave. She’s since gone on to pop up on shows like NCIS: Los Angeles and Chicago P.D., and appear in low-profile movies like Sleight and the American Girl feature Lea To The Rescue.
Now, she’ll be taking on the part of Margaret “Meg” Murry, a self-described oddball who’s fiercely protective of her supernaturally gifted little brother, Charles Wallace. When he stumbles onto the three witches living in the woods near their home, Meg, Charles Wallace, and their eventual friend Calvin find themselves launched across a galaxy on a quest to discover the missing Murry father.
Meg was played by Katie Stuart in the 2003 TV-movie version of the book. Meanwhile, DuVernay has previously said that she was interested in casting minority actors in the parts of the movie’s child stars.