Just when you think you’ve seen everything waiting on the timeline of 2022 movie releases, a surprise comes along to make your day. Unfortunately for Idris Elba, the surprises in Beast see his character protecting his family from lions, and landslides, and poachers (oh my)! For the man who’s battled larger and seemingly more formidable foes on the big screen, it looks like Elba's still got a good chance of fending off this fearsome beast.
Dr. Nate Daniels (Elba) and his daughters, Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Sava Jeffries), are still grieving over a loss in their family. Intending to relax and process that grief, the Daniels family takes a South African trip that includes a safari with family friend Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley.) Before you can say “Simba,” things take a horrific turn, when Universal's titular Beast crosses paths with the group.
Make no mistake, this lion's not looking for a “Hakuna Matata” sing-along, or a discussion on how The Lion King changed between incarnations. As we wind through the trailer, we see that this feline nemesis kills for sport; an atypical behavior to be sure. To make matters worse, obstacles like landslides and hunters present themselves to complicate things an extra mile. Looks like this psychotic lion is going to be eating well for this movie's runtime.
Even stacking Beast’s villainous lion against everything Idris Elba faced in the ending to The Suicide Squad could lead to some interesting questions. While this isn’t a gigantic starfish-styled kaiju and the crushing bureaucratic fist of Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller, both fights seem to have parallels. The only problem is, you can’t blackmail a lion; and you know someone out there has tried.
What's even more interesting is the fact that this film happens to take up some theatrical real estate that's really close to a movie sold in Idris Elba's other big trailer of the moment, Three Thousand Years of Longing. No matter what happens, seeing this trailer end with a shot of Idris Elba punching a lion with his bare hands might give moviegoers pause before choosing. Then again, this could be the perfect call for an Elba double feature!
If one were to guess when this trailer would appear at the movies, you can almost bet that Jurassic World: Dominion’s June 10th debut will have this fierce reel attached to its showings. Which, considering the ending to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, could inspire co-writer/director Colin Trevorrow to flesh out a crossover midquel between Roberta the T-Rex and this unnamed feline hunter.
You can stalk the Beast when the furry foe claws its way to a theater near you on August 19th. To see what other upcoming Idris Elba movies are still on the books, that information awaits in a jungle of a more digital, less threatening nature.
