Julia Roberts And Mahershala Ali Battle The Apocalypse In The Leave The World Behind Trailer
A group of strangers come together in the wake of a massive, global apocalypse that essentially signals the end of the world as we know it? It's completely understandable to have your mind jump immediately to M. Night Shyamalan's "Knock at the Cabin," given the startling amount of similarities on a surface level, but "Leave the World Behind" writer and director Sam Esmail has trodden on this ground before.
Journey back with me to the quaint year of 2015, which might as well be another lifetime at this point. He'd just debuted the paranoid thriller series "Mr. Robot," starring Rami Malek as a brilliant computer hacker who just so happened to get caught up in the revolution of a lifetime. As well-written and politically relevant as it was, however, pop culture seemed to move on from the show after certain current events at the time (and a rather long wait between seasons, admittedly) appeared to dull the edge off of it. Well, I guess the most hardcore "Mr. Robot" fans (raises hand) weren't the only ones to take that personally, as Esmail's returning to very familiar territory with "Leave the World Behind," which also involves an impending apocalypse set off by cyberattacks. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
The previous teaser for the Netflix movie leaned heavily on the doomsday prepper vibes, but this latest footage goes even further to sell viewers on the epic stakes and overall tone of the story. You can check out the newest trailer above!
Leave the World Behind comes to Netflix this December
Sometimes, you just can't get rid of some unwelcome house guests ... especially when they seem to know a little too much about the mysterious catastrophe currently engulfing the world. In "Leave the World Behind," filmmaker Sam Esmail reteams with Julia Roberts after previously working with the actor on Prime Video's "Homecoming" series. Here, she's joined by a powerhouse of co-stars, including Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Myha'la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, and the great Kevin Bacon. Fans of "Mr. Robot" will undoubtedly recognize Esmail's penchant for immaculately-framed shots and, of course, that creeping sense of dread at the frightening reality that all our 21st Century technology can completely fail us at the most inopportune moment. The man clearly has a lane that he's sticking to and I, for one, respect it.
"Leave the World Behind" is based on author Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel of the same name and is set to host its world premiere at the AFI Fest this month, where early reactions to the film are sure to begin rolling in. Netflix has gone so far as to secure a limited release in select theaters, almost certainly in an effort to position the film as a potential end-of-the-year awards player. "Leave the World Behind" will bow in theaters on November 22, 2023, ahead of its Netflix debut on December 8, 2023. Based on Esmail's track record and the talent involved, we would suggest putting this one on your radar. The fate of the world just might depend on it.