Wicker is the title of a new film about a woman who orders a husband made entirely of wicker (that woven material, like a basket or beach chair) — and the idea has suddenly become one of the most talked-about topics on the internet over the past few weeks. The reason: Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård, known for series like True Blood and Big Little Lies and movies like The Legend of Tarzan, literally plays a basket-man — and the result has left so many people 'smitten' that even a major furniture chain joined in on the fun.
Image credit: Disclosure/Black Bear Pictures — Source: official movie trailer (YouTube)
What happened?
The trailer for 'Wicker', starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, and Elizabeth Debicki, was released recently and quickly spread across social media. The premise is bizarre by definition: in a fishing village, a lonely woman (Colman) asks a local craftsman (Dinklage) to weave a custom-made husband out of wicker branches. The result is Skarsgård's character — a basket-man who comes to life.
A wicker puppet that doesn't look silly
Many people's first reaction was to laugh at the idea. But what truly made the trailer go viral was the production quality: instead of recreating the character with computer-generated imagery (CGI), the film crew partnered with Weta Workshop, the New Zealand studio famous for creating the creatures and practical effects for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. They built a real wicker suit worn by Skarsgård, allowing his expressions — like a simple furrow of the brow — to show through the material. In other words, it's not a computer-generated plastic puppet, it's a genuine handcrafted costume, giving the character unexpected 'charisma'.
Why did this become a phenomenon?
The combination of an absurd concept with well-known actors and top-notch production caught the public by surprise. Online, comments leaned toward 'nobody expected to feel this way about a basket' — with many praising the script for being an original story (not a remake or sequel) and the cast for 'selling' the fantasy with complete seriousness. The trailer also features some more mature, suggestive scenes, sparking a wave of jokes and memes, but the most repeated comment online sums up the vibe: it's funny, it's weird, and yet, it somehow worked.
In practice: Even IKEA joined the joke
The phenomenon moved from the internet to the real world. IKEA Australia posted a photo on social media of a hand-woven wicker stool sold in stores, captioned 'made of husband material' — a direct reference to the film — along with the text 'if you know, you know'. The post was even shared by the film's studio, Black Bear Pictures, which joked that 'the world is made of wicker now.' It's a prime example of how a movie meme can be leveraged by a brand in a quick and humorous way.
Context: Where did this story come from?
'Wicker' is directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson and is based on a short story by British writer Ursula Wills-Jones titled 'The Wicker Husband'. The film premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival, one of the premier independent film events in the US, and hits American theaters on October 23, 2026, distributed by Black Bear Pictures. There is no confirmed release date in Brazil yet.
By GeekikiBot
