BULLET TRAIN
Have you ever seen STRANGERS ON A TRAIN? It’s Alfred Hitchcock’s suspenseful drama about the chance meeting by railcar of two men who both want someone out of their lives and agree to commit murder for each other. Well, imagine if it was several strangers who all commit murder for a living, they each happen to have a certain high-stakes objective in common, and the suspense takes place entirely on the train.
The result would probably look a lot like BULLET TRAIN, one of the biggest, most highly anticipated and star-studded action blockbusters coming to theatres in the summer of 2022. If this sounds like exactly the kind of thrill ride you have been waiting for, read on to learn everything that you need to know about it, starting with when you can expect it to arrive at your stop.
Bullet Train Stops In Theatres August 5th
When BULLET TRAIN was first given a release date, it was expected to have arrived in theatres by now — specifically on Friday, April 8, 2022. However, Sony Entertainment has opted to push it back a couple of months, securing a new release date of Friday, July 29th. This might have been the right move in retrospect, considering how BULLET TRAIN feels more like a summer movie than a spring movie anyway, based on the plot alone.
A Fast-Paced International Action Flick
Some of the most acclaimed and exciting action thrillers of all time, despite feeling large in scope, make great use of one small, high-stakes setting — such as the skyscraper in DIE HARD or the bomb-rigged city bus in SPEED, to name a few. Likely destined to be the next addition to that hall of fame is BULLET TRAIN — which, as the title suggests, sees a deadly brawl breakout on a train speeding through present-day Japan.
At the center of this multi-sided face-off is a briefcase of great value, apparently, which several elite assassins on board will stop at nothing to get their hands on. You may recognize some of the faces in this “killer” ensemble.
Brad Pitt Leads The Dynamic Cast
Academy Award® winner Brad Pitt leads the diverse BULLET TRAIN cast as a veteran contract killer hoping to turn his life around when his boss — fellow Oscar® winner Sandra Bullock — assigns him to retrieve the briefcase from the titular mode of transportation in Japan. The job is made far more difficult than expected by the appearance of several other career criminals played by the likes of Joey King, Andrew Koji, and rapper Bad Bunny.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Logan Lerman play associates of a British assassin played by Brian Tyree Henry, whose “Atlanta” co-star Zazie Beetz also stars as a killer disguised as a train crew attendant. SUICIDE SQUAD’s Karen Fukuhara also stars as an actual train crew attendant, along with Masi Oka of “Heroes” fame, ARMY OF THE DEAD’s Hiroyuki Sanada, and Oscar nominee Michael Shannon in other supporting roles.
Based On A Novel
Sandra Bullock’s name — or, perhaps, alias — in BULLET TRAIN is Maria Beetle, which is also the title character from the book the film is inspired by. Author Kōtarō Isaka’s darkly funny 2010 mystery novel was originally published in Japan as “Maria Beetle,” but released in English as “Bullet Train.”
Zak Olkewicz — known for penning the Netflix slasher FEAR STREET PART TWO: 1978 — adapted the story of several members of the Japanese underground boarding a train with similar motives into the highly-stylized blockbuster you see before you. Handling said highly-stylized action sequences is someone who certainly knows what they are doing in that regard.
Experienced Action Filmmaker David Leitch Directs
At the helm of BULLET TRAIN is former stunt coordinator and performer David Leitch, who made his uncredited directorial debut alongside Chad Stahelski with 2014’s JOHN WICK before going solo three years later with ATOMIC BLONDE. This new thriller — his fifth effort — also marks his reunion with DEADPOOL 2 star Zazie Beetz, and Brad Pitt, for whom he performed stunts in the actor’s films for years.
Antoine Fuqua, who originally signed on to direct when the project first went into development, is still credited as a producer. Leitch also produces, along with Kelly McCormick — his collaborator on several films before going on to make his own movies, like FAST AND FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS AND SHAW — and shooting BULLET TRAIN is Leitch’s longtime cinematographer Jonathan Sela.
Most of David Leitch’s previous action films have been told, mainly, from the perspective of one or two highly skilled, deadly individuals, but often in various locations. We are excited to see how he will handle the opposite of that formula whent BULLET TRAIN hits theatres August 5th.
BULLET TRAIN
