Wicker's marketing team hasn’t been shy when it comes to promoting the romantic fantasy, and some of its creative choices, like making a popcorn bucket that looks like the wicker man's torso, have left me speechless. So it feels on-brand that someone decided to take things a step further and make this movie's poster look like a Harlequin romance novel. I have to say, A+ to whomever came up with that idea, because its perfect.
So, Wicker, which was written and directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, is set in a medieval farming town, where one fisherwoman is ostracized for smelling like fish and for having opinions. According to the synopsis, “When the japes at her spinster status intensify, she sarcastically commissions for herself a husband made out of wicker.” Of course, this leads to jealousy and chaos in the village. Sounds like the perfect plot for a Harlequin romance, right? Check out the cover fit for such a premise:
Interestingly enough, while it wasn’t a romance NOVEL, the movie is based on a short story titled “The Wicker Husband” by Ursula Wills-Jones. It was popular enough that it was adapted into a musical in the UK, and now it's a film. Honestly, the fan hype and uniqueness of the plot are giving me The Shape of Water flashbacks, and I’m here for it. Truly, Black Bear Pictures knew the assignment when they created this movie and its poster that's “a romantasy novel-inspired edition made especially for you.”
I’m not the only one who thinks the poster is practically perfect in every way, either. It’s turned several fans into basket cases:
- Where can I get this poster?!?!?! Lol - @inkdrinker_777
- Put it in the Louvre - @haithar.reads
- brb having a kid so I can name it Colman Skarsgard - @blackphoenixalchemylab
- I AM SICK I need this desperately omg. - @literaryintersections
- WE’RE AFRAID WE NEED THIS DESPERATELY 🤌🏼- @heartboundbookshop
- Need the poster like I need a wicker husband. - @happily_after_heas
I guess now I'm thinking about a wicker husband too. If someone had told me that Alexander Skarsgård would be playing a ‘supernatural’ creature more out there than a vampire, I wouldn’t have predicted that it would be a wicker man. Certainly not one that requires a heavy amount of makeup. Though it’s definitely nice to see how much fun he and the rest of the cast are having both in the film and with the marketing. Even his reaction to the popcorn bucket was everything.
Now going back to this poster, someone showed it to Skarsgård, Olivia Colman, and Elizabeth Debicki, and their reactions are exactly what I expected. Plus, I know fans can relate to their reactions, especially Colman, who asked, “Can we keep these?” Her reaction makes me desperately want someone to ask her if anything in the movie had her giggling. You can see the moment in the clip below:
Well, now that we have this fabulous poster, it's important to note that Wicker hits the 2026 movie schedule on October 23, and I have a good feeling about what fans are going to think. The poster alone is getting overwhelmingly positive feedback, and honestly it’s somehow both wholesome and risqué in a perfect way.
If the movie does well, maybe we’ll see the poster as an actual Harlequin cover with a movie-tie novel. Just food for thought for whoever is doing the marketing. If it helps, I have faith that fans will be lining up for that, too.
