Focus Features has released the first trailer for the new film Stillwater, starring Matt Damon and directed by Tom McCarthy (Spotlight13 Reasons Why). The trailer follows confirmation earlier this year that the movie would be getting an updated summer release date of July 30. In Stillwater, Damon plays an oil-rig worker from the titular town in Oklahoma who goes to Marseille, France to try and exonerate his estranged daughter over a murder she did not commit.

In addition to directing, McCarthy also co-writes the script for the film alongside Marcus Hinchey, Thomas Bidegain, and Noé Debré. Stillwater's cast also features Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), who plays Allison, the daughter of Damon's character, as well as Camille Cottin (Killing Eve), Deanna Dunagan (The Visit) and newcomer Lilou Siauvaud.

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Image via Focus Features

RELATED: ‘Stillwater,’ the New Drama From Matt Damon and Tom McCarthy, Gets Updated Release Date In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly leading up to the trailer's release, McCarthy shed more light on the backstory of the project, as well as what he and Damon did for research purposes in order to lend more authenticity to the film, which was shot on location in both Oklahoma and Marseille. "Matt and I started going [to Oklahoma] early on to get a taste of the place and the people and spending time with roughnecks, in particular," said McCarthy. "They really opened up their lives to us, and their worlds and their families. They were incredibly instrumental in helping us shape the story."

McCarthy also expanded on the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the film's production process, saying: "We shut [post-production] down and put it down, revisited it, shut it down again, and then opened it up about a month ago. ... Whenever you can get away from a film like that, and you approach it with fresh eyes, you have the ability to make positive changes to it. I think we made a number of changes to it, which really impacted the movie, but it feels done. It feels baked now."

Stillwater will premiere in theaters on July 30. Watch the first trailer below:

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Here's the official synopsis for Stillwater:

A dramatic thriller directed by Academy Award® winner Tom McCarthy and starring Matt Damon, Stillwater follows an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma who travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter.

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