John Krasinski Directs Steve Carell in Delightful New Film
A Quiet Place director/writer John Krasinski may have another film franchise on his hands. The Office alum’s latest sees him teaming up with his old “boss”/co-star in a new, delightful fantasy film. IF was written and directed by Krasinski, who starred as Jim Halpert in the sitcom. His new, family-friendly film sees Steve Carell voicing the role of a huge, fluffy purple creature. IF stands for “Imaginary Friends,” and the fantasy comedy follows a young girl who starts seeing imaginary friends who have been abandoned by their originators.
The plot sounds a bit like the Cartoon Network animated series Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends, which also has a purple fluffy creature. The mostly-live-action film also stars Krasinski and his wife and A Quiet Place star Emily Blunt, Ryan Reynolds, Matt Damon, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Maya Rudolph, Jon Stewart, Christopher Meloni, Awkwafina, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, Louis Gossett Jr., Bobby Moynihan, Sam Rockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Richard Jenkins.
Wholesome Filmmaking
This is the first time Krasinski and Carell have teamed up on something since The Office ended in 2013. Krasinski previously told Collider over the summer that the film was made for his kids because he they’re not allowed to see his sci-fi horror (A Quiet Place) just yet. In the 2018 film, though rated PG-13, he and Blunt’s daughters Hazel and Violet are under ten years old (Hazel is nine and Violet is seven). He said Blunt calls it “PG-40,” telling their daughters that is when they are allowed to watch the film.
Having FOMO for his daughters, what else was a dad to do other than make a movie they could see? Plus, he said he’s “really, really excited about it.” He further says that besides being adorable, imaginary friends are also “time capsules of your hopes, dreams, and ambitions when you were the most fertile of a brain, and it never goes away. I think we’re told that we’re adults instead of what if you realize that you never stopped being a kid.”
IF is set for release on May 17, 2024. Watch the trailer below:
