Here’s the First Trailer for Samuel L. Jackson’s ‘The Beast’ — Release Date, Cast, and Everything We Know

Action movies about a commander-in-chief under siege have become something of a genre unto themselves, from ‘White House Down’ to ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ and its sequels. But leave it to Samuel L. Jackson to find a way to make the well-worn premise feel fresh again, this time by putting the president himself behind the wheel of the fight.

Jackson has flirted with presidential action heroics before, most notably in 2014’s ‘Big Game,’ where his character survived a hijacked Air Force One with help from a teenage boy in the Finnish wilderness. Now he’s stepping back into similar territory, but with a decidedly bigger, more heavily armed vehicle at his disposal.

Aura Entertainment has released the first trailer for ‘The Beast,‘ confirming Jackson will star as the President of the United States in a new action thriller from director Renny Harlin. The film is set to hit theaters on October 9, and the footage wastes no time diving straight into explosive, over-the-top action.

The story follows a militia of unidentified hostiles who coordinate a coup against the United States, forcing Jackson’s president to personally take the wheel of the armored presidential limousine known as The Beast. Along the way, he must unlock the vehicle’s full arsenal of highly classified offensive capabilities to protect a grievously injured Secret Service agent, reunite with his wife, and ultimately save the country from collapse.

As seen in the trailer, those capabilities reportedly include a pair of Gatling guns hidden in the trunk, along with a fully stocked wet bar for good measure. The premise leans hard into the “president under attack” subgenre popularized by films like ‘White House Down’ and ‘Air Force One,’ while adding its own gleefully ridiculous spin with a weaponized limo doing most of the heavy lifting.

Joel Kinnaman co-stars as the injured Secret Service agent riding shotgun for most of the chaos, marking his second collaboration with Jackson after the pair previously appeared together in 2014’s ‘RoboCop’ remake. Colin Morgan and Guy Burnet round out the supporting cast, joining a production that clearly isn’t taking itself too seriously.

‘The Beast’ also marks a reunion between Jackson and Harlin, who previously worked together on 2007’s poorly received ‘Cleaner.’ Harlin’s résumé includes a mix of beloved action classics and more divisive recent efforts, having directed films ranging from ‘Die Hard 2’ and ‘Cliffhanger’ to this year’s shark thriller ‘Deep Water.’

Whether this pairing proves more fruitful than their last collaboration remains to be seen, though early reactions to the trailer suggest fans are already on board with the film’s self-aware sense of humor. Much of that comes from the trailer’s lighter beats, including a bit where Kinnaman’s character attempts to mimic Jackson’s now-iconic delivery of a certain expletive.

With just over a month left before its theatrical release, marketing for ‘The Beast’ is only expected to ramp up from here. Between Jackson’s built-in star power and the sheer absurdity of a bulletproof, Gatling-gun-equipped presidential limo, the film looks positioned to carve out its own lane in an already crowded genre.

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