David Leitch has been an industry veteran for years, having worked on the stunt team for countless blockbusters and hit television series such as Fight Club, 300, Tron: Legacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. In 2014, Leitch's name became widely known around town after co-directing the Keanu Reeves hit John Wick alongside Chad Stahelski. Since then, Leitch has become one of the most highly sought-after action directors in the business and has also become quite the producer as well. In 2017, Leitch directed his first solo outing, the Charlize Theron-led Atomic Blonde; the following year, Leitch directly the highly-anticipated superhero sequel Deadpool 2, and the year after that he helmed the Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw. Even in his supposed "downtime" Leitch has produced other action flicks including the Bob Odenkirk vehicle Nobody and the Mary Elizabeth Winstead action flick Kate.

In 2022, Leitch will continue his dominance in the action genre with Bullet Train, a film with a starry cast, an intriguing premise and the promise of some dynamite action, this is a film that could easily wind up becoming a big hit and possibly launch a franchise.

Editor’s Note: This piece was last updated on June 9 to add the latest trailer.

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Image via Sony

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Is There a Trailer For Bullet Train?

Yes, there is! The first official Bullet Train trailer was released on March 2, 2022. The clip introduces the main characters and the setting. The trailer also teases the high-octane action set pieces that are bound to be the movie's biggest draw. Check it out in the player above. A second trailer was released on June 7 with a better look at the characters.

What Is Bullet Train About?

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Image via Sony

Bullet Train is based on the Japanese novel written by Kōtarō Isaka and is set on a Japanese Bullet Train on a high-speed journey from Tokyo to Morioka with very few stops on the way. Onboard the vehicle are five assassins, all working individual assignments. Unbeknownst to them, they are all interconnected. Once the assassins start to realize what is truly going on, the killers have to fight for their survival against each other on their way to discovering the secrets awaiting them at their destination.

The premise seems to promise plenty of brutal and relentless action and definitely shares similar vibes to the John Wick franchise. It will be interesting to see what the film winds up being rated. While an R-rating seems like a sure-thing since outside Hobbs & Shaw, all of Leitch's films have received that rating, there is a small chance that Sony will want to aim for a PG-13 rating in order to have younger audiences join in on the chaos as well.

Who Is In Bullet Train?

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Image via Sony

Brad Pitt stars in the lead role of Ladybug, one of the assassins on board the titular bullet train. This will mark Pitt's first role since he nabbed the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. It will also be Pitt's first action-oriented role since he starred in Robert Zemeckis' 2016 WWII romantic action-thriller Allied where he starred opposite Marion Cotillard. Pitt also had a quick cameo role as the X-Force member Vanisher in Leitch's superhero sequel Deadpool 2. Also on the horizon for Pitt is Damien Chazelle's big-budget period piece Babylon where he'll be leading an all-star cast that includes Margot Robbie, Jean Smart, Tobey Maguire, Olivia Wilde, and Jovan Adepo. He also recently had a cameo role in the Sandra Bullock-Channing Tatum double-header The Lost City. Pitt has also become recently attached to several other high-profile projects; he will be reteaming with his Ocean's Eleven co-star George Clooney in an untitled thriller directed by Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts, which was acquired by Apple in a heated bidding war.

Joining Pitt in Bullet Train will be Joey King in the role of Prince, a fellow assassin. King has been keeping busy as of late, having starred in Netflix's hit The Kissing Booth franchise as well as landing an Emmy nomination for her role as Gypsey Rose Blanchard in the Hulu True-Crime limited series The Act. King has several projects in the works currently including the 20th Century Studios/Hulu action flick The Princess and the Netflix YA film Uglies from director McG among others.

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Image via Sony

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is also onboard the project as Tangerine. Johnson is no stranger to blockbusters having appeared in films like Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Kick-Ass, Godzilla, Tenet, and Outlaw King. He also won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his unhinged role in Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals. Johnson has several major projects brewing at the moment including playing the lead role in Sony's Spider-Man spin-off Kraven The Hunter from Triple Frontier filmmaker J.C. Chandor.

Additionally, Brian Tyree Henry will play the assassin Lemon in the film. Henry has become a hot commodity in the industry, he just played Phastos, the MCU's first openly gay superhero in Chloe Zhao's Eternals and he had supporting roles in major films such as Godzilla Vs. Kong and The Woman In The Window. Coming up for Henry is Lila Neugebar's PTSD drama Red, White and Water starring Jennifer Lawrence at A24 and the FX on Hulu limited series Class of '09 where he'll star opposite Kate Mara. He also recently reprised his role as Paper Boi in the third season of the acclaimed FX series Atlanta alongside Donald Glover and LaKeith Stanfield.

Also on board Bullet Train is Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock in a role that was initially meant for Lady Gaga. This will mark Bullock's second collaboration with Pitt after the previously mentioned The Lost City. Zazie Beetz will be joining the film as Hornet, marking her second collaboration with Leitch after playing Domino in Deadpool 2. Andrew Koji is also in the film as Kimura, continuing his jump into American blockbusters after he played Storm Shadow in the G.I. Joe reboot/spin-off Snake Eyes.

Michael Shannon, Logan Lerman, Bad Bunny, Masi Oka, Hiroyuki Sanada, Karen Fukuhara, Pasha D. Lychnikoff and Miraj Grbic will make up the rest of the film's impressive ensemble.

When Does Bullet Train Come Out?

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Image via Columbia Pictures

Sony has set Bullet Train for a theatrical release on August 5, 2022, where it'll be opening against the A24 slasher film Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, and the Jo Koy comedy Easter Sunday. The movie was originally scheduled to premiere on July 15 but was subsequently postponed in March 2022 to a July 29, 2022 release, and then to the current date.

When Did Bullet Train Film?

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Image via Sony

Filming for Bullet Train began on November 16, 2020, in the Los Angeles area. Filming lasted all the way up until March 2021. While it may seem strange at first that the Japan-set film held production in LA, the ongoing pandemic likely interfered with plans to film overseas.