Jordan Peele has unveiled the trailer for an action-packed new film called Monkey Man, written and directed by Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel.
Filled with hair-raising fight sequences reminiscent of John Wick, the trailer tells the story of a fight club thug in an Indian metropolis bent on revenge.
Dev plays the Kid, a poor rural man who infiltrates the urban elite to avenge his mother's death.
The story is interspersed with iconography from Hindu scriptures, with particular emphasis on the widely revered figure Hanuman.
Hanuman is an earthly incarnation of the god Shiva – the destroyer – half-human and half-monkey, a supernaturally powerful figure who appears in the classic epic Ramayana in the war against the demon king Ravan and his army.
Jordan Peele has unveiled the trailer for an action-packed new film called Monkey Man, written and directed by Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel
Filled with hair-raising fight sequences reminiscent of John Wick, the trailer tells the story of a fight club thug in an Indian metropolis bent on revenge
Dev plays the Kid, a poor rural man who infiltrates the urban elite to avenge his mother's death
The story is interspersed with iconography from Hindu scriptures, with particular emphasis on the widely revered figure Hanuman
Hanuman is an earthly incarnation of the god Shiva – the destroyer – half-human and half-monkey, a supernaturally powerful figure who appears in the classic epic Ramayana
At the start of the trailer, hints of the child's traumatic childhood emerge as gunmen storm his village and set it on fire as his mother screams.
Flashes of artwork depicting Hanuman appear briefly on the screen, while the adult child's voice-over narration sets the stage for the action.
“When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me a story about a demon king and his army,” Dev’s voice booms over the mysterious opening footage.
An urban elite man, draped in a white kurta and matching shawl, appears alongside a phalanx of soldiers and a squad of thugs – clearly the villains of the picture.
“They brought fire and terror to the land until they came face to face with the protector of the people – the White Monkey,” the boy continues.
He is seen muscle-bound, shirtless and drenched in sweat training for one of the fights, presumably at his underground fight club.
The boy engages in no-holds-barred battles against grisly opponents, including one who wields a mace at his head.
As he enters the ring, the boy channels the deity his mother told him about and hides his face behind a giant monkey mask.
At the start of the trailer, hints of the child's traumatic childhood emerge as gunmen storm his village and set it on fire as his mother screams
Flashes of artwork depicting Hanuman appear briefly on the screen, while the adult child's voice-over narration sets the stage for the action
“When I was a boy, my mother used to tell me a story about a demon king and his army,” says Dev’s voice over the mysterious opening footage
An urban elite man, draped in a white kurta, appears along with a phalanx of soldiers and a squad of thugs – clearly the villains of the picture
“They brought fire and terror to the land until they came face to face with the protector of the people – the White Monkey,” the boy continues
He is seen muscle-bound, shirtless and drenched in sweat training for one of the fights, presumably at his underground fight club
The boy engages in no-holds-barred battles against grisly opponents, including one who wields a mace at his head
As he enters the ring, the boy channels the deity his mother told him about and hides his face behind a giant monkey mask
The boy emerges from his life in the poorest areas of the city and, with a cheesy underbelly, secures a series of part-time jobs at a nightclub.
“Give me the job no one wants to do and I’ll do it,” he vows, throwing himself into a routine that includes scrubbing floors and washing up vomit.
“In this city, the rich don't see us as people,” he explains during a clip in which the villain weaves in a luxury car through a crowd of hoi polloi knocking on his window.
The audience gets a glimpse into the club's seedy underworld when a man's face is thrown into an ashtray.
To the men's delight, a line of girls gathers together, and one of them informs the boy, “This isn't the place to work if you can't handle things like that.”
“Every day I prayed for a way to protect the weak,” the boy says over a striking shot of the skyscrapers looming over the slums.
He finds a man who can get him a car, but then he learns that the vehicle in question is an autorickshaw, named after Nicki Minaj because of its “big bumper” and “nice headlights.”
Using his trusty new car, the boy launches himself into a series of bloodthirsty battle sequences against a series of fearsome enemies.
The boy emerges from his life in the poorest areas of the city and, with a cheesy underbelly, secures a series of part-time jobs at a nightclub
“Give me the job no one wants to do and I’ll do it,” he vows, throwing himself into a routine that includes scrubbing floors and washing up vomit
“In this city, the rich don't see us as people,” he explains during a clip in which the villain weaves in a luxury car through a crowd of hoi polloi knocking on his window
To the men's delight, a line of girls gathers together and one of them tells the child, “This isn't the place to work if you can't handle things like that.”
“Every day I prayed for a way to protect the weak,” the boy says
He finds a man who can get him a car, but then he learns that the vehicle is an autorickshaw, named after Nicki Minaj because of its “big bumper” and “nice headlights.”
Using his trusty new car, the boy launches himself into a series of bloodthirsty battle sequences against a series of fearsome enemies
Monkey Man was previously a Netflix project, but was taken over by Jordan Peele, whose Monkeypaw Productions is now releasing it in theaters
The film marks Dev's first feature film directing effort, six years after he directed a short film called Home Shopper with Armie Hammer
Monkey Man was previously a Netflix project, but was taken over by Jordan Peele, whose Monkeypaw Productions is now releasing it in theaters on April 5th in association with Universal Pictures.
The film marks Dev's first feature film directing effort, six years after he directed a short film called Home Shopper with Armie Hammer.
By flirting with Hindu iconography, the film risks provoking controversy in India, where a Hindu nationalist party is currently in government and disrespect for the majority religion has become an increasingly sensitive issue.
Last year, internet outrage grew over Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer because a sex scene quoted a sacred Hindu text, the Bhavagad Gita.
In May, an uproar broke out over actress Deepika Padukone wearing an orange bikini in a sexpot musical called Besharam Rang (Shameless Color), as saffron is considered a sacred color in Hinduism.