'Jojo Rabbit' Trailer: Taika Waititi Plays An Imaginary Hitler In His New Dark Comedy
Before Taika Waititi returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he'll give us Jojo Rabbit, a sure-to-be-buzzed-about dark comedy. Waititi directs and co-stars in the film about a young German boy during World War II who has an imaginary friend – an imaginary friend who just happens to look exactly like Hitler. Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, Leave No Trace breakout Tomasin McKenzie, and newcomer Roman Griffin star along with Waititi. Watch the Jojo Rabbit trailer below.
Jojo Rabbit Trailer
From "Visionistical" director, Teeka Wachichi, here's a "teezer traylor", for my anti-hate satire, #JojoRabbit, in theaters October 18. @rebelwilson @alfieeallen #ThomasinMcKenzie #RomanGriffinDavis @stephenmerchant #samrockwell #scarlettjohansson @jojorabbitmovie #visionistical pic.twitter.com/8o8X8cyJTD
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) July 23, 2019
Jojo Rabbit has been on our radar around here for months. Any new film from Taika Waititi is worth paying attention to. But then you take a look at the film's synopsis, and think, "How can I not see this?":
The story follows an awkward young German boy (Roman Griffin) raised by a single mother (Scarlett Johansson), and whose only ally is his imaginary friend Hitler (Waititi). His naïve patriotism is tested when he meets a young girl (Thomasin McKenzie) who upends his world views, forcing him to face his biggest fear.
"I'm stoked to begin shooting my anti-war satire. We've assembled an incredible cast and I couldn't be more excited to finally ridicule Nazis and their beliefs. This film is going to piss off a lot of racists and that makes me very happy," said Waititi when production began. Jojo Rabbit is a Fox Searchlight movie, which means it's also a Disney movie now. And there's something extra wild about a dark Disney-owned comedy featuring an imaginary, buffoonish Hitler. What a time for cinema. That said, don't expect Disney to take part in the film in any way – when the House of Mouse highlighted its release slate through 2027 of both Disney and Fox films, they didn't think to include Jojo Rabbit.
It's clear producers think they have something special on their hands here because they're positioning Jojo Rabbit for both festival season, and an awards season run. In fact, the film is set to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
"Taika is a master at bringing honesty and humanity to the surface in any story, all while allowing us to laugh. We could not be more thrilled to join him in the remarkable journey of Jojo Rabbit," said Presidents of Production Matthew Greenfield and David Greenbaum.
Jojo Rabbit opens October 18, 2019.