The original One Thousand And One Nights, collected by scholars and writers across Asia and Africa over hundreds of years, could hardly be considered a feminist fairytale — its framing narrative is literally a woman telling stories night after night to avoid becoming the latest bride-shaped notch in her murderous husband's belt. If the first trailer for Julia Jackman's starry Isabel Greenberg adaptation 100 Nights Of Hero is anything to go by though, then that archaic narrative is about to get one hell of a reframing. For Emma Corrin, Maika Monroe, Charli XCX, Nicholas Galitzine, and more ripping up the period piece rulebook in riotous fashion, check out the teaser below;
Is 100 Nights Of Hero a feminist fairytale? An anti-misogynist manifesto? A fantastical fever dream loaded with sapphic tension, satirical swipes, and a surprise, blink-and-you'll-miss-it tease of a platinum-haired Felicity Jones? The answer, at least on present evidence, seems to very much be all of the above, and much more besides. Rather than a doomed bride telling her tormentor tall tales to curry favour, Jackman's movie — like Greenberg's graphic novel before it — looks to see Corrin's maid Hero regaling young bride Cherry (Monroe) with tales of rebellious women night after night to inspire in her the courage to basically tell future He-Man Nicholas Galitzine's darkly charismatic would-be suitor Manfred to do one. And it's going to do so with oodles of style, as the gorgeous costumes and quasi-Medieval setting — giving hints of Saltburn, Spencer, and even subtle notes of Francis Ford Coppola's decidedly unsubtle Bram Stoker's Dracula — attest.
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The short but sweet official synopsis for the movie reads as follows: "When her neglectful husband departs after placing a secret wager to test her fidelity, Cherry (Monroe) and her sharp-witted maid, Hero (Corrin), must fend off a dangerously seductive visitor: Manfred (Galitzine)." We'll find out if Cherry's holding out for a Hero pays off when 100 Nights Of Hero hits cinemas stateside on 5 December, and UK/Ireland multiplexes in early 2026.