'Gifted' Trailer: Chris Evans Lets His Inner Dad Shine

Chris Evans wants to give an extraordinary little girl the gift of an ordinary life in Gifted, the new drama from director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer). Evans plays Frank, a single man raising his seven-year-old niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) after the death of her mother. When Mary begins attending school for the first time, the other adults in her life realize that she’s a mathematical prodigy — including Mary’s grandmother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan), who wants to take custody of the child in the interest of developing her genius.

But Frank is ready to fight. “My sister wanted Mary to be a kid. She wanted her to have friends and be happy,” he tells the court. Luckily, he has the support of Mary’s teacher Bonnie (Jenny Slate, Evans’s real-life girlfriend), who also has a romantic connection with Frank. Oscar winner Octavia Spencer co-stars as Frank and Mary’s landlady, who seems more nurturing and protective than his actual mother Evelyn. “If anybody takes that baby away, I’ll smother you in your sleep,” she mock-threatens him. Watch the trailer above.

Gifted opens in theaters on April 12, 2017.