Netflix unveils the first trailer for Jane Campion's adaptation of Thomas Savage's 1967 novel The Power of the Dog starring Benedict Cumberbatch. The story centers on Phil Burbank, a charismatic rancher who inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil takes to psychologically tormenting them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
Alongside Cumberbatch, the cast for The Power of the Dog includes Golden Globe nominee Kirsten Dunst, Primetime Emmy nominee Jesse Plemons, X-Men alum Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jojo Rabbit's Thomasin McKenzie, Golden Globe winner Frances Conroy and Oscar winner Keith Carradine. Development on the film first began in early 2019 with Campion signing on to write and direct and Cumberbatch signing on to star alongside Elisabeth Moss and Paul Dano. The latter two would ultimately have to depart due to scheduling conflicts with The Handmaid's Tale and The Batman, with Dunst and Plemons being cast to replace them and production getting underway in New Zealand from January 2020 through most of the year after a brief shutdown due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahead of its premiere at the Toronto and Venice International Film Festivals, Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for The Power of the Dog. The video is set to the tune of a menacing whistle coming from Cumberbatch's Phil and offers a look at the harrowing drama to come from the film. Check out the trailer below:
Click here to watch the trailer
Throughout his career, Cumberbatch has become primarily known to audiences for his more heroic roles on both the big and small screens, most notably as Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sherlock in the eponymous BBC series. However, some will recall his villainous turn in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness and the first trailer for The Power of the Dog certainly looks like a powerful return to the dark side for the Oscar and Golden Globe nominee. Replete with a dirtier look and outfit appropriate for the time period, the trailer may not offer much in the way of the ultimate story of the film, but the menace coming from Cumberbatch's Phil Burbank truly permeates from the footage.
In addition to Cumberbatch, the rest of the main cast for The Power of the Dog look to be firing on all cylinders, with Dunst looking to deliver another powerful performance as the wife to real-life fiancé Plemons. The trailer also offers plenty of gorgeous imagery from Campion in her first feature project in over a decade after co-creating, co-writing and co-directing the Moss-led mystery series Top of the Lake. Only time will tell how the pieces all fit together when the film hits select theaters and Netflix on December 1.
Source: Netflix