Ewan McGregor's New Movie Has J.J. Abrams' Mystery-Box Fingerprints All Over It (For Better Or Worse)

There are times when seeing the name of a particular star or filmmaker can get you really excited for a new movie. Sometimes, a certain person being involved in a film can be the reason you decide to go. The new trailer for The End of Oak Street starring Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway is sure to tell you that it's produced by J.J. Abrams, but I'm not sure that's entirely necessary, because I could have guessed.

The End of Oak Street, formerly known as Flowervale Street, is only produced by Abrams. It's directed by David Robert Mitchell of It Follows fame. That's also not particularly shocking, as there are clear horror vibes in the new trailer. However, the thing that the footage, and likely the film as a whole, will be selling itself on is not what you are going to see, but the questions you want answered, in true J.J. Abrams fashion. Check out the trailer above.

The End Of Oak Street Is Pure J.J. Abrams Mystery Box

The trailer gives us Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway as part of a family who have apparently woken up one day to discover that their house, and their entire neighborhood, has been transported from wherever it was to someplace else. How or why did this happen? Thus far, nobody knows, but apparently, there are also dinosaurs.

Almost certainly, the how and the why of the supernatural transportation will be what the movie focuses on. It's not a shock that this is a Bad Robot production because this sort of thing seems to be exactly what gets J.J. Abrams out of bed in the morning. He has spoken at length in the past about his love for what he calls the "mystery box." A movie that is all about giving the audience questions and then getting them to watch the movie or TV show in order to get the answers.

A lot of people love J.J. Abrams' projects for exactly this reason. People tuned into Lost for years to follow every twist and turn in the story. I love a good mystery myself, and I won't pretend I'm not curious to see where The End of Oak Street goes with its story. The problem is, sometimes when we get J.J.'s mystery box open, we don't love what's inside.

The Resolution To These Mysteries Aren't Always Satisfying

The problem when you hang your entire movie on a central mystery is that the mystery's solution has to pay off, or people are going to leave the movie disappointed, regardless of how good the rest of it was. This is something we've seen happen with J.J. Abrams projects before. See the still-controversial ending to Lost as the most notable example.

It doesn't mean The End of Oak Street won't pay off and be great. Sometimes J.J. Abrams gives us The Cloverfield Paradox, sure. But sometimes he gives us 10 Cloverfield Lane, and we are dazzled. One way or another, we'll find out what's inside the mystery box this summer.