Though he’s been largely off our radar since 2008’s Che, Benicio del Toro is definitely mounting a comeback. Outside of his work as The Collector in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, del Toro has also locked down roles in projects from such acclaimed directors as Paul Thomas Anderson, Terrence Malick and Denis Villeneuve. But before we see him in any of those movies, del Toro also has another highly promising project lined up – he’ll be playing drug lord Pablo Escobar in this fall’s Paradise Lost.
Hailing from first-time director Andrea di Stefano (he played the priest in Life of Pi), Paradise Lost centers on a tourist named Nick (Josh Hutcherson) who travels to Colombia and falls for a local girl named Maria (Claudia Traisac), only to discover that Maria’s uncle is none other than Escobar himself. Soon enough, Nick is in way over his head thanks to Escobar’s influence, and he finds his life in peril.
Though the trailer we have today, at just 30 seconds, is more of a teaser than anything else, it still looks pretty potent. Of course, we’ll see anything with del Toro in it, but he looks especially well-cast as the quietly threatening drug lord. “Nobody escapes Pablo Escobar,” he levelly growls at the end of the trailer – and boy do we believe him.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Young surfer Nick thinks all his dreams have come true when he goes to visit his brother in Columbia. Against an idyllic backdrop of blue lagoons and white beaches he falls madly in love with a beautiful Colombian girl called Maria. It all seems perfect until he meets her uncle, one Pablo Escobar.
Paradise Lost opens October 15th in Spain and November 5th in France. No release date has yet been set for the U.S., but I’d imagine it’ll be some time around then.
