Universal has released the official trailer for Melina Matsoukas' Queen & Slim. Announced in July 2018, the film is based on an original script by writer-actor Lena Waithe (Master of None, The Chi), from a story she cowrote with novelist and screenwriter James Frey (A Million Little Pieces). Get Out alumnus Daniel Kaluuya stars with Jodie Turner-Smith (Nightflyers), and the pair are joined by a supporting cast that includes Bokeem Woodbine (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Indya Moore (Pose).
Queen & Slim follows a black man and woman (Kaluuya and Turner-Smith) on an otherwise uneventful first date when an encounter with a police officer turns deadly, forcing them to go on the run together. The first look teaser dropped at the BET Awards in June and offered a quick rundown of the movie's Thelma & Louise-style crime drama storyline. Now, following yesterday's unveiling of the film's poster, the official trailer has arrived.
The Queen & Slim trailer premiered online this morning and will presumably be attached to Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw in theaters this weekend. You can check it out in the space below, followed by the one-sheet (for those who missed it).
Overall, this trailer plays out as an extended version of the First Look and continues to highlight Queen & Slim's poetic imagery, along with Kaluuya and Turner-Smith's performances. The footage here is reminiscent of Matsoukas' previous music video work (especially her direction on Beyoncé's "Lemonade" music videos) and suggests the actual movie will make for a visually lush love story by way of an on-the-run adventure. And although Woodbine's character, Uncle Earl, literally refers to the two leads as "The black Bonnie & Clyde" after a video of their encounter with the police goes viral, it's obvious that Queen & Slim is something else altogether. Indeed, the film is clearly trying to examine racism and police brutality in the U.S. today, but also ground its commentary in the experiences of two people who know they can never return to their former lives.
Audiences will get to see Queen & Slim for themselves later this year, when the film hits U.S. theaters over the Thanksgiving frame. That week is typically a crowded one for movies and 2019 will be no exception, with Rian Johnson's murder mystery Knives Out opening on the same day as Matsoukas' film and the Fred Rogers drama A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood arriving five days earlier (along with some movie called Frozen II). Queen & Slim seems like it could be something special, though, so hopefully it won't end up being buried by the competition this November.
Source: Universal Pictures
