If you’ve ever wondered where your imaginary friends go when they’re no longer in your brain, John Krasinski has an answer.
Written and directed by the “Quiet Place” helmer, “IF,” an abbreviation for “Imaginary Friends,” is a new fantasy comedy that follows a young girl who starts seeing imaginary friends that have been abandoned by their originators. The film stars Krasinski, Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Jon Stewart, Bobby Moynihan, Sam Rockwell, Sebastian Maniscalco, Christopher Meloni, Richard Jenkins, Awkwafina and Steve Carell, who voices a huge, cuddly purple creature.
IF reunites Krasinski with Carell, as they previously starred together in “The Office.” This is their first project together since the series ended in 2013.
“‘IF’ is a movie that I made for my kids because I don’t think they’re allowed to see ‘A Quiet Place’; Emily [Blunt] calls it PG-40, ‘You’ll get to see it when you’re 40!’ So I had to make a movie that they could see, and I’m really, really excited about it,” Krasinski previously told Collider. “For me, it was just about what if we could tell a story about these time capsules? Imaginary friends are adorable and all those things, but they’re also time capsules of your hopes, dreams and ambitions when you were the most fertile of a brain, and it never goes away. I think we’re told that we’re adults instead of what if you realize that you never stopped being a kid.”
Krasinski produces the kid-friendly creature feature through his company, Sunday Night, along with Reynolds and his banner, Maximum Effort. Also producing are Allyson Seeger and Andrew Form.
“IF” is set for release on May 17, 2024.