David Leitch’s Bullet Train undoubtedly possesses the potential to be one of the year’s biggest sleeper hits, based almost entirely on the filmmaker’s track record for bone-crunching action sequences, the sky-high concept, and the stacked roster of talent on board.
As ingenious as it is simple, the titular mode of transport serves as the backdrop to five assassins all seeking the same target, only for each to discover in their own way that each assignment is connected in one way or another. The first trailer promised a fast-paced, frantic, and fun time at the movies, and we can’t wait to see more.
Speaking to Empire, the brains behind John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, and Hobbs & Shaw teased that Brad Pitt’s Ladybug finds himself in the midst of an existential crisis, not the ideal scenario when you’re about to brawl to the death countless times over.
“He’s having an existential crisis as all of these horrific things are happening around them. It makes him really relatable. You hear the title Bullet Train and you think, ‘Hard-boiled action’,” he says. “But really it’s a deliriously fun, heightened, comedic action thriller. [There’s] a little bit of physical comedy. The fights are designed to enhance the characters. We’re here to have fun in this super-contained space.”
With Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Bad Bunny, Zazie Beetz, Masi Oka, Logan Lerman, Karen Fukuhara, Sandra Bullock, and more also along for the ride, Bullet Train is going to throw plenty of obstacles in Ladybug’s way as he contends with his crisis of confidence.
