New Origin Trailer Previews Moving Drama From Selma’s Ava DuVernay


Neon has released a new trailer for Ava DuVernay’s Origin.

Directed by Selma’s DuVernay, Origin is an upcoming drama movie starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Jon Bernthal. The movie is based on Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents novel, which was published in 2020.

Check out the Origin trailer below (watch more trailers):

What is Origin about?

“While grappling with tremendous personal tragedy, Isabel sets herself on a path of global investigation and discovery,” the synopsis reads. “Despite the colossal scope of her project, she finds beauty and bravery while crafting one of the defining American books of our time.”

DuVernay’s first feature film was a 2008 documentary titled This is the Life. She followed that up with 2010’s I Will Follow, 2012’s Middle of Nowhere, 2014’s Selma, 2016’s 13th, and, most recently, 2018’s A Wrinkle in Time.

Along with Ellis-Taylor and Bernthal, Origin stars Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Niecy Nash-Betts, Nick Offerman, Blair Underwood, Donna Mills, Leonardo Nam, Connie Nielsen, Finn Wittrock, Victoria Pedretti, Mike Schymura, and Emily Yancy.

Origin premiered in September 2023 at the Venice International Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Golden Lion award. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival later that month. 

“I’ve known Ava for a long time, and my love and admiration for her and her work goes back further, even before Middle of Nowhere,’” Neon CEO and founder Tom Quinn previously said in a statement, per the Motion Picture Association. “I’m truly humbled that it is this movie which has finally brought us together. She has always been a gifted storyteller, and her mastery of her craft shines through in this deeply personal and inspired adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s book and dramatization of her remarkable life. Origin proves once again that Ava remains one of the most groundbreaking and essential filmmakers of her generation.”

Currently playing in limited New York and Los Angeles theaters, Origin is getting a wider release in the United States on January 19, 2024.