I’ve added the poster & first promotional still for “Midnight Special” to the gallery.

What’s going on with Jeff Nichols’ John Carpenter-esque “Midnight Special” you ask? Well, after being dated for November of this year, Warner Bros. pushed the film back to March 18, 2016. Some watercooler talk around The Playlist noted its the date this was all of one week ahead of the studio’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which doesn’t really give it much time to succeed or pick up an audience because WB will be 100% focused on their mega-franchise — easily their most important film of 2016.

However, we may have found an answer to WB’s release date reasoning for dropping “Midnight Special” in March. Kirsten Dunst, one of the co-stars in Nichols’ film, is currently promoting season two of “Fargo,” and she revealed on a recent Nerdist podcast that she will be in Austin, Texas with the film in March. The SXSW Film Festival runs from March 11-19, so if it makes its world premiere in Austin just a few days before its March 18th release, well, that makes perfect sense. SXSW is very indie/genre friendly, which is exactly what Nichols’ sci-fi-ish is. The director also lives in Austin, so it all just feels very much like a natural fit.

The official announcement won’t come until 2016, probably sometime in February after the buzz around Sundance has quieted. However, Dunst also said she’ll likely be in Park City, but for a completely different reason.

The actress revealed that she is currently co-writing a 1950s-set screenplay based on a book (of which she will not reveal the title) that she hopes to make her feature-length directorial debut. Dunst has already directed two shorts, one that starred Winona Ryder called “Welcome” from 2007, and “Bastard” in 2010. Dunst wouldn’t reveal details on the book but suggested it wasn’t a piece of fiction or traditional narrative she was adapting.

“It’s based on a book, but… it really could make it any way you [wanted],” she teased. “It’s the kind of book that — it could be so, so didactic and bad or you could really make a life of something [from it]. So you really need to make your own scenes up.”

“It’s a book that most women have read,” she continued. “I’m approaching it in a funny way. It’s going to be a dark comedy and I already have my actress — I’ve wanted to direct for a long time.” It sort of sounds like some kind of guide, manual or how-to book, but who knows really.

The “Fargo” actress says she’s still looking for financing, so she or her producers will likely go to Sundance to work on that. Dunst says the project is still in its “early days,” so in the meantime, we’ll just have to keep patient for “Midnight Special.”

Edward Davis, The Playlist

Midnight Special, the first major studio film by indie director Jeff Nichols (Mud) has been moved from its Nov. 25 release date to March 18. Distributor Warner Bros. provided no explanation for the change, though the studio just last week pegged its Sandra Bullock-starrer Our Brand is Crisis (originally scheduled for 2016) to an Oct. 30 release date. And the busy studio also has seven other films on its fall slate, including Pan, Point Break, and Creed.

Featuring Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, and Adam Driver, the science-fiction-oriented Midnight Special has been shrouded in secrecy. What’s known is that it concerns a father who goes on the lam with his 8-year-old son after the boy reveals supernatural abilities.

We’ll have to wait nine months to know if the film was worth the long wait. Meanwhile, Nichols has already announced his next project, a very unsupernatural dramatization of the historic Loving v. Virginia court case, also starring Edgerton.

Though the 2016 release means it won’t be competing for this year’s Oscars, Midnight Special could still profit from the delay. Nichols could do much worse than having one of the actors from the year’s most highly anticipated movie — Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ lead bad guy, Driver — high up in the cast list of his movie. Star Wars, opening on Dec. 18, might even still in theaters by the time Midnight Special hits screens in March.

Tobin Grimshaw, ew.com.

While we’re currently in the midst of looking ahead to this fall’s most promising films, it’s time to jump even further, specifically to one of our most-anticipated films of 2015, Jeff Nichols‘ Mud follow-up Midnight Special. Marking his studio break-out, the Warner Bros. project won’t be arriving until November 25th, 2015, but we’ve received the first synopsis.

Midnight Special is a supernatural sci-fi thriller from acclaimed writer/director Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter). It stars Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire, Man of Steel) as Roy, a father desperate to protect his uniquely gifted, eight-year-old son Alton, played by newcomer Jaeden Lieberher.

Joined by Joel Edgerton (The Great Gatsby, Animal Kingdom) and Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man, Melancholia), this group must race to get Alton to a secret location all while being hunted by an extreme religious sect led by Sam Shepard (Mud, August: Osage County) and a government task force headed up by Adam Driver (Girls). It is a full-on chase, the outcome of which could bring about a world-changing event.

While we previously knew some of the basics — particularly that Lieberher’s character had “special powers” — this rundown reveals the enticing roles of Driver, Shepard and a vague idea of how Edgerton and Dunst fit into the story.

The Take Shelter director has previously revealed that the overall tone will be a genre movie taking place heavily at night and akin to a “1980s John Carpenter” work such as Starman. There’s still a ways to go before we likely even see the first image, but it sounds like it’s shaping up to be something special and one can check back as more details come in.

Jordan Raup, thefilmstage.com

Warner Bros. have announced that “Midnight Special” will be released in U.S cinemas on November 25th 2015.

I’m guessing the ‘delay’ in releasing the film is due to Warner Bros. targeting the 2016 awards season. Hopefully it’ll be worth the wait!

I’ve added to the gallery pics of Kirsten on the “Midnight Special” filmset in New Orleans on Friday.

“Girls” star Adam Driver has closed a deal to join the cast of Jeff Nichols’ sci-fi drama “Midnight Special,” an individual familiar with the Warner Bros. project has told TheWrap. A representative for Warner Bros. had no comment.

Nichols is the acclaimed filmmaker behind “Mud,” “Take Shelter” and “Shotgun Stories,” all of which starred Michael Shannon. Shannon also stars in “Midnight Special” alongside Kirsten Dunst & Joel Edgerton.

The story follows a father & son who go on the run after the dad learns his 8 year-old child possesses special powers. Driver’s role is being kept under wraps.

TheWrap recently reported that Driver had emerged as the frontrunner to play Nightwing (aka Robin) in WB’s “Batman vs. Superman” project, which like “Midnight Special,” is expected to start production early next year. Driver has denied the report, though multiple sources tell TheWrap that he was absolutely in contention for the coveted role, even if he doesn’t ultimately wind up with the part.

Driver clearly has many fans on the Warners lot, where he made a strong impression on the studio’s Greg Silverman with his performance in Shawn Levy’s dysfunctional family comedy “This Is Where I Leave You.” Since his breakout, Emmy-nominated turn as Adam Sackler on “Girls,” Driver has worked with Clint Eastwood on “J. Edgar,” Steven Spielberg on “Lincoln” & the Coen brothers on “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

Driver next stars opposite Mia Wasikowska in John Curran’s “Tracks” & will soon be seen alongside Daniel Radcliffe & Mackenzie Davis in CBS Films’ romantic comedy “The F Word.” He has also reteamed with “Frances Ha” director Noah Baumbach on “While We’re Young.”

Driver is represented by the Gersh Agency.

Jeff Sneider: thewrap.com.

Warner Bros has set Kirsten Dunst to play the female lead in “Midnight Special”. She will star opposite Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton in the Jeff Nichols directed film. In the film, a father & his 8 year old son go on the run when dad realizes the boy has some kind of special powers. Nichols, who last helmed “Mud”, wrote the script. Dunst is repped by UTA and Management 360 & was most recently seen in “Melancholia”, “Bachelorette”, “On The Road”, & “Upside Down”.

Mike Fleming Jr, deadline.com

Funnily enough I’ve been keeping tabs on this project for a while now. Jeff Nichols was interviewed last week & he said that the film was currently scheduled to begin production next January. He confirmed that Michael Shannon was already onboard & that Joel Edgerton was in talks to appear in the film. No mention was made of Kirsten or any other cast members.