Beast Footage Reaction: Idris Elba Punches A Lion In The Face [CinemaCon 2022]
CinemaCon is happening right now in Las Vegas, with footage from upcoming films being shown to press and distributors to get us all excited for what's on the way. This time around we have "Beast" starring Idris Elba as a man with his teenage daughter being hunted by a lion in South Africa. I'd put money on Idris, even with the king of the beasts on his tail.
"Beast" was filmed on location in South Africa, and is directed by Baltasar Kormákur ("Adrift"). It was written by Ryan Engle ("The Commuter") from a story by Jaime Primak Sullivan. The cast includes Elba ("Luthor") as Dr. Nate Samuels, Sharlto Copley ("District 9") as Martin Battles, a friend of Samuels' at the game preserve, Iyana Halley ("The Hate U Give") as Samuels' daughter Meredith, and Leah Sava Jeffries ("Rea") as his daughter Norah.
Here's a rundown of the footage we saw.
Battle with the king of the beasts
In the footage from "Beast," Elba's character says, "This is my chance to reconnect with the girls." It won't be that simple.
He's brought his two teenage daughters out into the African bush, and while the three are on the road, odd things start happening. They come across a bloody man who says the word, "Devil." He's clearly been attacked. Sharlto Copley's character says, "I've never seen anything like this," referring to multiple lion attacks without the prey being killed.
Then a giant freakin' lion comes out of nowhere and chases Elba's character, who barely makes it back to the car before the big cat smashes into the door. That car seems to have been crashed, and might not even be operational. Uh, oh! It's feels a bit like "Cujo," with them trapped in the car while the predator lurks outside.
"We're in his territory now," Copley's character says. "It's the law of the jungle." Elba's character says he's got to get his girls out of there. At one point in the footage, Elba's character and Copley's, along with the girls, are surprised at night with some men with guns. We see a cool shot of someone getting sucked up into the sky after stepping on a trap, and it appears to be one of these men, while another one ends up getting taken out by the lion.
In the final shot, Elba's character punches a lion in the face, which feels like it's worth the price of admission.
Here is the synopsis for "Beast:"
A recently widowed man and his two teenage daughters travel to a game reserve in South Africa. However, their journey of healing soon turns into a fight for survival when a bloodthirsty lion starts to stalk them.
"Beast" will hit theaters on August 19, 2022.