John Malkovich's acclaimed Oscar contender from Banshees of Inisherin director releases fresh look with brand new trailer

Director Martin McDonagh's upcoming dark comedy Wild Horse Nine is already winning praise from critics, and now a new trailer has been released before the movie arrives in cinemas on 4 November.

Oscar winner Sam Rockwell and acclaimed actor John Malkovich star as CIA agents Lee and Chris, who are sent from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief MJ (Steve Buscemi), shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup.

The pair wrestle with their pasts and present conspiracies while visiting the iconic Easter Island statues, but when Chris bonds with two rebellious students, his actions threaten to send everyone's trip to the remote paradise sideways.

The movie, which has been tipped for nominations at next year's Academy Awards, had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on 3 September, and Malkovich won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor while there.

You can watch the trailer below:

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Wild Horse Nine has also received a host of five-star reviews from critics at titles including The Daily Telegraph, The Times and Time Out, with Screen Daily commenting on the "electric performances from John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell" and adding "the film benefits from McDonagh’s expert blend of poignant drama, meaty dialogue and blistering dark comedy."

The Radio Times four-star review describes the movie as "poignant and powerful."

The Hollywood Reporter, meanwhile, called stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell "a perfect pair" and also said that the movie is "another memorable addition to McDonagh’s distinctive body of work and a late-career high for Malkovich, whose knack for hiding and revealing his character’s feelings at the same time makes Chris an uncommonly thoughtful antihero."

Martin McDonagh, who won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2005 for Six Shooter, is best known for his acclaimed movies In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin.

While Malkovich hasn't worked with McDonagh before, costar Sam Rockwell won an Oscar for his role as bullying police officer Jason Dixon in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and also costarred in another McDonagh movie, Seven Psychopaths.

The new movie, which was filmed last year in Rapa Nui and Santiago, also stars singer/actor Tom Waits as Chris's brother, Parker Posey as Lee's wife Marge, and Mariana di Girolamo and Ailin Salas as the two college students who befriend Chris.

Wild Horse Nine is scheduled for release in UK cinemas on 4 November 2026.

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