Brad Pitt fights his way out of the heart of the beast in the first trailer for David Ayer’s upcoming action adventure film. Joined by his canine companion, Pitt plays a retired Army Special Forces soldier attempting to escape the harsh Alaskan wilderness after a devastating accident. After years of playing the infallible lead, Pitt is now entering his Liam Neeson era, taking a page out of his 2011 thriller The Grey.
Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for Heart of the Beast, which is set to hit theaters on Sept. 25, 2026. Fresh off his box office hit The Beekeeper, Ayer returns with a more isolated survival thriller that will surely have audiences rooting very closely for the safety of Pitt’s former soldier and his best friend, a combat dog. The footage flashes back to their time in the military, revealing that the German Shepard lost his teeth and a leg in battle. However, another fight for survival is ahead of them, as their plane crashes into the Alaskan wilderness. Not only do they have to fight against the harsh environment, but also the wildlife, as the trailer ends with Pitt fending off a pack of hungry wolves.
Heart of the Beast stars Pitt, J.K. Simmons, and Anna Lambe. Watch the trailer below:
In one of the most anticipated collaborations of the year, Brad Pitt finally reunites with director David Ayer well over a decade after manning a tank in the epic war film Fury. Luckily, Heart of the Beast already looks like a reunion well worth the wait, featuring the action Ayer is known for while leaning on Pitt as a one-man show. In fact, Ayer believes the Oscar-winning actor was “vulnerable” in a way that he had not seen before. Speaking with GQ, he praised Pitt’s “profound” performance as the driving force of Heart of the Beast.
“He’s a beast. He was vulnerable and exposed himself in a way that I haven’t seen before. A constant theme from people who have seen the film is just how raw and believable and profound his performance is.”
As the new trailer suggests, the upcoming survival thriller is ultimately about the unbreakable bond between Pitt’s military veteran and his dog. As Ayer recently told GQ, Heart of the Beast is yet another entry in his filmography about two or more characters going through “hell and back together.” From the close-knit five-man crew featured in Fury, to the brotherhood between cops in End of Watch, the director is now going back to his roots as an emotional storyteller in Heart of the Beast.
Heart of the Beast is set to release in theaters on Sept. 25, 2026.
Birthname
William Bradley Pitt
Birthdate
December 18, 1963
Birthplace
Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA