'Gifted' Trailer: Chris Evans Stars In Marc Webb's Black List Movie

Before he made the critically slammed The Amazing Spider-Man films, director Marc Webb was a darling of the indie film world. A music video and commercial director who broke onto the movie scene with the fantastic 500 Days of Summer. He returned to the more moderately-budgeted world of dramatic films (read: less studio and producer meddling) and reuniting with Fox Searchlight for his next film Gifted.

Chris Evans (Captain America) stars as a single father raising a child prodigy played by Mckenna Grace (Independence Day: Resurgence, Designated Survivor) and the struggle for him to retain custody. The movie has an excellent cast which also includes Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer, and Lindsay Duncan. Watch the Gifted trailer now embedded below.

I'll admit, the title is a bit generic, and the poster for the film (which you can see below) looks like one of those fake movie posters you'd see as a joke in some other movies. And while the beats of this story could very well be that generic drama, Gifted looks like it has the potential to be a sweet little movie. The screenplay for Gifted landed on the 2014 Black List, an industry-voted listing of the best-unproduced scripts in Hollywood. I'm hoping this film is a return to form for director Marc Webb. Regardless, I'm excited about the filmmaker's next film, The Only Living Boy In New York,

The official plot synopsis for Gifted follows:

Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising a child prodigy – his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) – in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old's mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank's formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary. Octavia Spencer plays Roberta, Frank and Mary's landlady and best friend. Jenny Slate is Mary's teacher, Bonnie, a young woman whose concern for her student develops into a connection with her uncle as well.

Gifted will hit theaters on April 12th, 2017, although I wouldn't be surprised if it follows the pattern of Webb's feature film debut and premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in January. And here is that highly generic-looking Gifted poster: