After his enormous success as writer, director and producer of A Quiet Place and its sequel A Quiet Place Part II, John Krasinski takes another big step as a filmmaker with his latest creation, IF, which stands for Imaginary Friends.
And on Thursday, the first trailer for the upcoming film, which is a mix of both live-action and animated fantasy comedy, was released.
This goes around the former star of the hit mockumentary sitcom The Office has attracted a bevy of A-stars starting with Krasinski himself, along with Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, Alan Kim, Bobby Moynihan and Liza Colón-Zayas, all of whom be part of the live-action cast.
The cast portraying the voice roles are Steve Carell, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Jon Stewart, Sam Rockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Christopher Meloni, Richard Jenkins, Awkwafina and Vince Vaughn.
The film “follows a young girl who goes through a difficult experience and then begins to see everyone's imaginary friends left behind while their real friends have grown up,” according to the film. IMDb.
Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming lead an A-list ensemble cast in the live action/animated fantasy comedy film IF, which stands for Imaginary Friends
On top of the teaser, Krasinski poses an alternate reality: “What if everything you believed as a child was real,” as The Man Upstairs (Reynolds) slowly and silently walks through his daughter's bedroom to keep her from waking up.
After interacting with one of those so-called Imaginary Friends, Blue (Carrel) reveals himself to be an IF, better known in this world as an Imaginary Friend.
Blue and The Man Upstairs have a funny interaction where he tires out to keep Blue from sneezing and waking his daughter Bea (Fleming).
His efforts fall short and Blue eventually lets out a loud sneeze, but Bea was not in bed sleeping, but was outside her house, looking up as The Man Upstairs hung just outside the bedroom window, due to the force of the sneezes.
Stunned by him hanging on the side of the house, Bea gets another shock of her life when one of the other animated characters makes their first appearance.
As time passes, Bea is given the opportunity to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been abandoned by the children they helped.
The story follows Bea as she masters her new superpower and embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their children.
Paramount Pictures' IF, or Imaginary Friends, will hit U.S. theaters on May 17, 2024.
Reynolds plays The Man Upstairs, who is first seen in the teaser tiptoeing around a bedroom so as not to wake a young girl
It isn't long before the first IFs appear, voiced by Steve Carell
After The Man Upstairs is blown out a bedroom window, Bea notices it before another IF appears and startles the young girl.
Bea, played by The Walking Dead star, gets to know all the Imaginary Friends
Krasinski not only stars in the film, but also serves as director, co-writer and producer
As time passes, Bea gains the opportunity to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been abandoned by the children they helped
Bobby Moynihan shows his comic sense in the film about Imaginary Friends
Right at the top of the teaser, Krasinski poses an alternate reality: 'What if everything you believed as a child was real'
Reynolds leads the cast, which also includes voice roles from Steve Carell, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Jon Stewart, Sam Rockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Christopher Meloni, Awkwafina, Richard Jenkins and Vince Vaughn
The story follows Bea as she comes to grips with her new superpower and embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their children.
There's no shortage of fantasy scenes featuring Reynolds and his young co-star
The adventure becomes trippy as the story takes shape
Reynolds would once again show off his comedic skills, alongside his young co-star
Paramount Pictures' IF, or Imaginary Friends, will hit U.S. theaters on May 17, 2024.
John Krasinski, 44, serves as director, co-writer, producer and star of IF, which follows his success with A Quiet Place (2018) and A Quiet Place Part II (2020).
Krasinski is coming off the enormous success he had as director, co-writer and producer of A Quiet Place, in which he also starred with his real-life wife Emily Blunt.
The original post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror film became a huge hit at the global box office in 2018, grossing $341 million against a budget of just $17 million.
With a budget of $50-60 million, the sequel, A Quiet Place Part II, ended up costing much more to make, but it also made a big profit: $297. 4 million in box office receipts.
The Boston, Massachusetts native made his directorial debut in the comedy drama Brief Interviews With Hideous Men (2009).
It would be about seven years before he would write and direct again with the comedy-drama The Hollars (2016).