‘A Wrinkle in Time’s’ diverse cast draws attention

Ava DuVernay’s screen adaptation of “A Wrinkle in Time” won’t be in theaters until next March — but it’s already stirring up a stew of chatter on social media.

In Madeleine L’Engle’s classic 1962 teen science fantasy novel, a teenager named Meg travels in space with her brother and a friend to find her scientist father, who has disappeared while doing secret work for the government.

The Disney remake — the novel was previously adapted for the screen in 2003 — features Storm Reid in the role of Meg and includes Chris Pine, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling among its stars.

While the vast majority of social media users praised the film’s diverse casting and celebrated that the movie features a female director, some users wondered if the casting was meant to push a political agenda. DuVernay has previously directed “Selma,” the civil rights drama, and “13th,” a documentary about African-Americans in the criminal justice system.

“The Observer” noted DuVernay is taking some heat from haters on social media for “trying to make too much of a political point by casting African-American actors as characters that were assumed to be white (though the book doesn’t actually specify).”

As with any book made into movie, #WrinkleInTime has some big shoes to fill. Hope they dont make it political and just stay true to the book

— Bo (@m0t0rb0) July 15, 2017

I never accuse movies of having forced quotas because i think its dumb, but man, does that Wrinkle in time film have a diversity agenda.

— Zachary Rincon (@2boogie2woogie) July 19, 2017

In DuVernay’s version, Meg’s father (Pine) is white, her mom (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) is black and the three celestial beings who help her “wrinkle” time and space are played by Witherspoon, Kaling and Winfrey.

And there’s nothing wrong with that, the director says.

“The first image [I had in my head] was to place a brown girl in that role of Meg, a girl traveling to different planets and encountering beings and situations that I’d never seen a girl of color in,” DuVernay, who is African-American, told Entertainment Weekly.

“I was interested in… a heroine that looked like the girls I grew up with.”

DuVernay said she identified with some progressive ideas she found in L’Engle’s novel.

“She’s a very radical thinker and she embedded her sense of what society should and could be in this piece, and a lot of it I agree with.”

But does that mean her adaptation will adopt a political tone? Experts say we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions about what DuVernay’s final film will look like.

Freelance journalist Orrin Konheim, who has written for “The American Conservative,” noted that many films, including “The Manchurian Candidate,” have been remade with African-American stars.

“Ava DuVernay’s casting choice seems like a non-issue,” he said. “I also think that it’s important not to let our politically polarized climate prevent directors from telling the stories they want to make, and DuVernay, like any other filmmaker, should have full support to make art how she sees fit.”

But, Kohheim added, “This does go double for the left… which as of late has been coupling their quest for gender, racial and sexual orientation inclusiveness with a certain intellectual exclusivity and a desire to limit or punish filmmakers who don’t conform to their new expectations.

“While DuVernay is a person whose ideas and opinions command respect as a gifted filmmaker and leader in thought, it does seem reasonable to take any of DuVernay’s comments on race and film within the context of someone …

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