Pursuant to last week’s cryptic “Nippon Speed Line bullet train” viral ad campaign which promised “a new way to travel: tranquil, comfortable, and fast,” as was deducted, Sony Pictures has today released the first official trailer for David Leitch’s (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw) adrenaline-fuelled adaptation of bestselling Japanese author, Kōtarō Isaka’s dark, satirical novel “Maria Beetle”.
It was only a matter of time before the rights to the novel were going to get snapped up for a big-screen adaptation, with the plot quickly compared to the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Ethan Coen. Helmed by Leitch, from a script adapted by Zak Olkewicz (Fear Street: 1978), and starring an immense all-star cast including Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Andrew Koji, Joey King, Zazie Beetz, Logan Lerman, Bryan Tyree Henry, and Michael Shannon, Bullet Train takes place aboard a Japanese high-speed bullet train traveling out of Tokyo. Whilst there aren’t many passengers on board, five of them all happen to be hitmen:
Kimura (Koji), a recovering alcoholic, has designs to murder the person who left his young son in a coma. Underworld thugs “Tangerine” (Taylor-Johnson) and “Lemon” (Tyree Henry) have rescued the kidnapped son of a gangster and are taking him back to his father, along with a suitcase full of money. Nanao, known as “Ladybug” (Pitt), is the world’s unluckiest assassin: none of his assignments ever go to plan. And finally, there’s “Prince” (King), a teenager who passes herself off as an innocent schoolgirl but is really a viciously cunning psychopath. When the five killers discover that they are all on the same train, they soon realize that their missions are not as unrelated as they first appear.
In anticipation of Bullet Train releasing exclusively at cinemas from July 15, we´ll leave you with the first official trailer that promises a non-stop, white-knuckle ride through modern-day Japan.
