DeWanda Wise plays a mother terrorized by a sinister stuffed bear that appears to possess her youngest stepdaughter in the horror thriller’s trailer Imaginary from Blumhouse Productions and Lionsgate that dropped Thursday.
Wise’s Jessica moves back to her childhood home with her family, but her youngest stepdaughter Alice (Pyper Braun) develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey she finds in the basement. Alice begins playing games with Chauncey that start playfully but become increasingly sinister.
As Alice’s behavior becomes increasingly concerning, Jessica intervenes and realizes that Chauncey is much more than the furry toy she thought he was. The trailer reveals that Alice’s eerily lifelike teddy bear is an “imaginary friend” from her own childhood that she left behind long ago while growing up and is now unhappy that she abandoned him.
“You always played with your imaginary friend. Then the connection was disconnected. And the entity becomes enraged,” Jessica is told at one point. Imaginary, directed by Jeff Wadlow pre-strike, is scheduled for release on March 8, 2024.
The cast includes Tom Payne, Taegen Burns, Veronica Falcon and Betty Buckley. Wise will also star in the supernatural thriller Killing faith. She recently appeared in the blockbuster Jurassic Park: Dominion And The harder they fall, directed by Jeymes Samuel.
Wadlow directed Imaginary from a script he co-wrote with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland. Wadlow and Jason Blum produced the thriller, while Wise served as executive producer alongside Ryan Turek.
