‘Wicker’ Has the Internet Thirsting: These BookTok-Favorites Will Hold You Over Until Its Theatrical Release
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- Wicker, a Black Bear film starring Alexander Skarsgård as a man literally woven from wicker, saw its first trailer rack up 14 million views on Fandango's TikTok post, with viewers fixating on the premise and the practicalities of a wicker man's anatomy
- The film follows a lonely fisherwoman, played by Olivia Colman, who asks a local basketmaker (Peter Dinklage) to craft her a husband, then premiered at Sundance earlier this year before the trailer's wider release
- TikTok users fueled the viral moment with comedic videos imagining gynecologist wicker-splinter scenarios and 'how I'll be pulling up to Wicker,' while the official 4DX TikTok account joined in after fans began requesting a 4DX theatrical release
- The film is adapted from Ursula Wills-Jones' short story 'The Wicker Husband,' which the article notes is not currently available as a conventional book for purchase online
- Rolling Stone rounded up seven BookTok-favorite romantasy titles as 'book boyfriend' stand-ins, including Sarah J. Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City, plus Devney Perry's Shield of Sparrows and Danielle L. Jensen's A Fate Inked in Blood and The Bridge Kingdom
Why it matters: The Wicker trailer demonstrates how an unusual, meme-worthy premise can generate millions of views and crossover appeal between film audiences and BookTok's romantasy community, where 'book boyfriends' now span faerie kings, vampires, and apparently wicker men — giving a small indie film unexpected mainstream buzz before its theatrical release.
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