As a girl who loves fantasy books and the occasional romance novel, I have completely fallen in love with one genre: romantasy. But honestly, it might be hard to cater to the crowd of girls who have high expectations of men who aren’t even… human males. However, it looks like the marketing team behind the new romance fantasy movie Wicker knows exactly what they’re doing.
The new film, releasing in theaters on Oct. 23, 2026, stars Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård, and it's already spreading on social media. The team just released a new poster for the film — and it is entirely inspired by the modern-day romantasy novel, which is one of the most popular genres out there. The poster resembles a romance book cover, and personally, I would read the heck out of this book:
New romantasy novel-inspired poster for ‘WICKER’.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 16, 2026
• Starring Olivia Colman & Alexander Skarsgård
• The film follows an embarrassed fisherwoman who asks a basket maker to make her a husband out of wicker
In theaters on October 23. pic.twitter.com/qVyjeavy5z
It’s the same picture we’ve seen on several previous posters, but it’s used in a way that makes it feel like a romantasy novel cover. And it works.
Wicker is about a woman who… wants a husband, made out of wood
If you’re looking at that poster and wondering, “Where the heck is Skarsgård in this?” That’s because he’s literally underneath all that wood.
The premise of Wicker is that a lonely fisherwoman genuinely wants a husband and to feel loved. So, she goes to a basket weaver in the woods (played by Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage) and asks him to weave her up a husband out of wicker. With a little bit of magic, he delivers, and this new wicker husband… basically lives to please her. To make her happy. To… satiate her, if you get my drift.
Alright, I’ll walk myself out.
But jokes aside, the trailer is quite funny, and the premise isn't that far from something I’ve seen in romantasy novels. His devotion to her literally throws her village into chaos because no one can understand how he can devote so much of his time to one woman. That’s romantasy, right there — because he’s literally made to love her.
If you’ve dived into this genre lately, you know that really anything goes. If you want a great starting point in the romantasy space, you can check out the Sarah J. Maas books, or if you want something spicier and a bit more dragon-focused, the Fourth Wing novels are great. But there are deep rabbit holes to go down in romantasy.
There are men with tails, strange body parts, and literal demons — it’s a wild world out there. I wouldn't be shocked if a book existed about a man made of wood and his, well… wood.
I’m sorry, I’m having too much fun writing this. Anyway...
This is the kind of marketing we really need
The point is that this is honestly great marketing. We live in a world made up entirely of franchises. The biggest films that come out are often sequels or remakes or reboots or whatever. Sometimes they’re fantastic adaptations of legendary fantasy novels, but because they have such a heavy fanbase, they’re almost guaranteed to succeed.
Just look at the Dune films — I barely knew what they were before they came out, but because of the fanbase behind them, they succeeded. And now it’s even more successful than I ever thought possible.
But for a little movie like Wicker, based on a short story by Ursula Wills called “The Wicker Husband,” not many people know about it. It really is an underdog, and it needs to go the extra mile to reach audiences. How do you do that? By catering to the mass audience most likely to see it—girls who read things like this constantly.
(*slowly raises hand*)
This movie was already on my radar because I love Colman and Skarsgård, but I'm also a huge fan of Peter Dinklage, and his wild role in Wicker is one I think will be defining (I can't get over the fact that he's the basket maker). But this poster lights me up in ways I never could have imagined. And because of how creative it is, it just makes me want to see it more.
If you’re a romantasy girl, I think you should check out this film. And if not, well… maybe make your own wicker man at home. I’ll be in the theater when it releases.
Wicker premieres in theaters on Oct. 23, 2026.
Add us as a preferred source on Google