Miller’s Girl Trailer Brings Jenna Ortega and Martin Freeman Together in Psychological Thriller

Lionsgate has released a trailer for Miller’s Girl, an upcoming psychological thriller that teams Martin Freeman (Black Panther) and Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) as a student and professor whose lives become disturbingly complicated after a project starts to go off the rails. The movie was written and directed by Jade Halley Bartlett, who was at one point tapped to rewrite Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (although between rewrites, creative changes, and union rules, she doesn’t have a credit on the finished film). Miller’s Girl is a hotly-anticipated project, with a script so sharp that it has made Bartlett a buzzy name in Hollywood.

In the trailer, Ortega’s character becomes obsessed with her teacher and, apparently, decided to ruin his life after he rejected her advances. A too-friendly relationship becomes toxic after she tries to advance it to the next level, and Freeman’s Miller is left trying to figure out how to defend himself. Black Lightning star Christine Adams shows up in the final moments of the trailer as an administrator at the school.

You can see the trailer below.

Miller’s Girl will make its world premiere at the 2024 Palm Springs Film Festival, which runs from January 4th through 15th. It will be part of PSIFF’s Talking Pictures, where filmmakers screen their movie followed by a Q&A with the audience. Other movies set to take part in the program include Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon.

Ortega will begin filming the next season of Wednesday in the fall, and recently said that scheduling conflicts with the show will prevent her from coming back for the next installment in the Scream series. The Scream filmmakers, who had previously fired Ortega’s co-star Melissa Barrera, are now in the unusual position of having to suddenly rework the third installment in Scream‘s revival without two of the main stars. Rumors have started to circulate that they’re interested in trying to lure Neve Campbell back to the franchise now. That might be an uphill battle, since she reportedly bowed out after a contract dispute (for which Barrera later praised her principles).

Here’s the official synopsis for the film: 

A talented young writer (Jenna Ortega) embarks on a creative odyssey when her teacher (Martin Freeman) assigns a project that entangles them both in an increasingly complex web. As lines blur and their lives intertwine, professor and protégé must confront their darkest selves while straining to preserve their individual sense of purpose and the things they hold most dear.

Miller’s Girl stars Freeman, Ortega, Dagmara Domińczyk, Bashir Salahuddin, and Gideon Adlon. Written and directed by Bartlett, the movie is produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Josh Fagen, and Mary-Margaret Kunze.

Miller’s Girl will be in theaters on January 26.