The first trailer for the Christian Bale-led Western, Hostiles, gives a new look at director Scott Cooper’s latest contemplative, moody thriller. The film will be the second collaboration between Bale and Cooper, following their work together on the 2013 crime drama, Out of the Furnace, which despite receiving widespread praise for Bale’s performance was otherwise critically divisive. It’s worth noting as well that Cooper’s last film, the Johnny Depp-led Whitey Bulger biopic, Black Mass, received a very similar reception upon its release in 2015. Now, Cooper looks to be following that up with one of his more thoughtful and ambitious film outings to date.

Set in 1892, Hostiles follows a legendary Army captain (Bale), after he reluctantly agrees to escort a Cheyenne chief and the rest of his family through some extremely dangerous territory. And in addition to Bale, Hostiles boasts an impressive cast for itself with Jesse Plemons, Ben Foster, Rosamund Pike, Stephen Lang, and Bill Camp all set to play roles in the film, some of whom will also be reuniting with Cooper, while others will be working with the filmmaker for the first time.

Deadline Hollywood has officially unveiled the first full trailer for Hostiles online today too, following the film’s world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado this past weekend. While the trailer itself is light on plot or character details, it sells the sorrowful tone and intense violence of the film well, with Bale’s character sold as being an even more nihilistic, reluctant protagonist than some audience members might be ready for. You can check out the trailer for yourself now, though, in the space above.


Cooper has a habit as a director of getting some extremely authentic and awards-worthy performances out of his actors, in films that overall are not as well-received, so there’s the chance that Hostiles could follow a similar pattern critically as some of his previous outings. However, early buzz for the film has been overwhelmingly positive up until this point, with many calling it the best film that Cooper has ever made, which sets it up to be a much-needed step forward in the writer and director’s career.

The director’s strong visual eye and technical prowess is on full display throughout the trailer, so for those out there who have been wanting to see more prestige Westerns being released on the big screen nowadays, this could be just what they were asking for. After all, not only will Hostiles be a welcome return to the genre for Christian Bale but will be Cooper’s first real foray in the 1800s American West, and based on this trailer alone, it looks to be a genre and setting that feels specifically in tune with the director’s stronger sensibilities.

Hostiles does not yet have a theatrical release date set, but Screen Rant will keep you updated on the film as more details arrive.

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