Boy Swallows Universe trailer: What to expect from Netflix series based on Trent Dalton’s bestseller

Wenlei Ma | PerthNow

Wed, 1 November 2023 12:47PM

The anticipated small-screen adaptation of Trent Dalton’s bestselling novel, Boy Swallows Universe, must be getting close.

While there is no confirmed release date yet, the first trailer has just been released with the tantalising promise of “coming soon”.

The Australian Netflix series tells a coming-of-age story set in Brisbane in the 1980s. The central character is Eli, a young kid in the suburbs, but there’s nothing humdrum about his family.

His dad is lost, his brother is selectively mute, his mum is a recovering addict and his stepdad is a heroin dealer. That might sound dreary but if the series is anything like the book, it will be a blend of magical realism and the harsher realities of life.

The series has a stacked cast of Australian talent including Simon Baker, Travis Fimmel, Anthony LaPaglia, Phoebe Tonkin, Sophie Wilde, Deborah Mailman and Bryan Brown. Penguin Bloom’s Felix Cameron plays young Eli and Zac Burgess takes over the role as an older version.

The show was directed by Bharat Nalluri and Jocelyn Moorhouse with producers including Joel Edgerton, Troy Lum, Andrew Mason and Sophie Gardiner. At the request of the author, an array of local Queensland talent was also used, including rising star Jane Larkin, who plays Penny in episode 2 and 8 of the series, as well as Eloise Rothfield as Shelly Huffman, HaiHa Le as Bich Dang and Zachary Wan as Darren Dang.