The Source Material Behind the Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård Romance ‘Wicker’

The trailer for ‘Wicker’ sent the internet into a meme cycle centered on Alexander Skarsgård and his woven character. The premise is odd enough that plenty of viewers have gone looking for the story behind it, and the answer is more literary than the jokes suggest.

The ‘Wicker’ source material is a short story rather than a full-length novel, and that origin shapes the film’s tone. Here is a closer look at where the story came from, how the filmmakers adapted it, and how critics have responded now that the film is in theaters.

The Short Story ‘Wicker’ Is Based On

The film is directed and adapted by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson from the short story The Wicker Husband by Ursula Wills-Jones. That story dates to 2008. Some listings shorten the author’s name, but the title of the story is consistent across sources.

Wills-Jones wrote the story as a fable in the manner of a fairy tale. That quality carries into the movie, which one outlet describes as mixing storybook imagery with bawdy comedy, sensuality and darker satire.

One detail appears to come straight from the page. None of the characters in the film have traditional names, and they are identified by profession instead, which seems to be a stylistic choice carried over from the short story.

Plot and Cast of the ‘Wicker’ Movie

The story is set in a small medieval farming town with a rigid social hierarchy, where a recluse fisherwoman is ostracized for her persistent fish smell and her rejection of marriage. As the townspeople keep mocking her single status, she commissions the Basket Weaver to make her a husband out of wicker.

The Wicker Husband turns out to be honest, helpful and devoted to his wife, and the purity of their romance throws the closed minded villagers into chaos. Backstage notes that the townspeople grow jealous of the unconventional but sweet relationship.

Olivia Colman plays the Fisherwoman, Alexander Skarsgård is the Wicker Husband, Peter Dinklage is the Basket Weaver, and Elizabeth Debicki plays the Tailor’s Wife. The ensemble also includes Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan and Richard E. Grant as the village doctor.

Backstage also draws a comparison to ‘Pinocchio’, another story about a figure brought to life from an unlikely material.

How the Wicker Husband Was Brought to Life

Dev Patel was initially attached to the project but was replaced by Skarsgård, and principal photography wrapped in Budapest by September 2025. The casting change put a very different physical presence at the center of the film.

The filmmakers committed to a practical approach. They worked with Wētā Workshop of New Zealand to tailor a real wicker suit to Skarsgård’s movements and even his facial expressions. Fischer told TheWrap that “we knew it had to be real the whole time.”

The performers approached the material with different instincts. Skarsgård said the character’s purity unsettled him, since he usually gravitates toward conflicted roles, while Colman called the script one of her three favorites. Colman has also said she was surprised by the online attention around Skarsgård’s costume, noting that nothing she had done before drew that kind of interest.

Anna Meredith composed the score. Lol Crawley served as cinematographer and Sofi Marshall as editor.

Release Date and Critical Reception for the ‘Wicker’ Movie

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2026, and Black Bear Pictures acquired North American distribution rights the following month. It opened in select US theaters on October 23 and expands more widely on October 30. UK and Irish cinemas also receive it on October 30.

Rotten Tomatoes lists 94 percent of 117 critic reviews as positive, while Metacritic reports generally favorable reviews from 31 critics. The response has not been unanimous. TheWrap’s Sundance review judged the fable well intentioned but stiff.

Other critics were warmer. Awards Watch gave the film a B+ and called it a fun and bawdy fable. The Boston Globe awarded three stars. Collider singled out Skarsgård’s performance as the film’s strongest element.

For readers who know the original fable, the main question may be whether a practical wicker suit captured the Wicker Husband better than the page ever could, and the comments are a fair place to weigh in on that.