“Young Woman and the Sea,” the inspirational true story of the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel, opens next month in what Disney is describing as a “special engagement.” And we’ve got the first trailer, which you can watch above.
Daisy Ridley stars as Gertrude Ederle, a young swimmer who won a gold medal at the 1924 Olympic Games and then, two years later, became the first woman to swim 21 miles across the English Channel, from France to England.
It’s just the kind of soaring, based-on-a-true-story movie that Disney used to make regularly (referred to internally as “brand deposit” films) but have since been relegated to Disney+ – think “Remember the Titans,” “Queen of Katwe,” “Million Dollar Arm” and “McFarland, USA.” You’ll cheer, you’ll wipe away tears, you’ll come out of the theater thinking you can probably do some untested physical accomplishment you have no business trying to do.
Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia, Christopher Eccleston and Glenn Fleshler star alongside Ridley.
“Young Woman and the Sea” was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, his first movie for Disney since 2017’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.” And like that film “Young Woman and the Sea” was directed by Joachim Rønning. (Rønning is a Disney favorite who also helmed “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” and the upcoming “Tron: Ares.”) Jeff Nathanson wrote the script, based on the book “Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World” by Glenn Stout. Chad Oman Nathanson produced alongside Bruckheimer, with John G. Scotti, Ridley and Rønning serving as executive producers.
Despite the movie having commercial mass-appeal, Disney is saying that “Young Woman and the Sea” will be in “select theaters” this May, but it’s unclear how limited the opening will be. The last time a mainline Disney movie had a limited release was probably “Fantasia 2000,” which hit IMAX theaters at the end of 1999 before rolling out wider in 2000. It seems “Young Woman and the Sea” will simply have a limited release before transitioning to streaming (it was initially conceived as a Disney+-exclusive release).
“Young Woman and the Sea” opens in select theaters on May 31.
