Nicole Kidman Goes Undercover in the First Trailer for Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer

Oscar winner Nicole Kidman undergoes a major transformation in the trailer for director Karyn Kusama’s detective thriller Destroyer.

Kidman plays LAPD detective Erin Bell, who, when the leader of a gang she infiltrated years ago reemerges, is forced to face her demons and work her way back through the remaining members. Destroyer also stars Tatiana Maslany, Sebastian Stan, Bradley Whitford and Scoot McNairy, but the focus is all on Kidman’s intense physical transformation.

The new trailer features Kidman, this time sporting a dark, cropped wig, looking decidedly unglamorous as she hunts down the last remaining traces of her dark past. Destroyer made its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, followed by the Toronto International Film Festival, where reviews highlighted Kidman’s performance as a standout in an otherwise boilerplate crime thriller from the inventive director of cult favorites Jennifer’s Body and The Invitation.

It seems that Annapurna Pictures, which is set to release Destroyer this December amid internal struggles, is putting all of its chips on Kidman’s performance. Opening Christmas Day, Destroyer is set to close out a tough year at the box office for Annapurna, although on the bright side, the troubled film company has Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk and Adam McKay’s Vice, also starring a seriously transformed Christian Bale as former VP Dick Cheney, coming later this year.

Destroyer premieres in theaters Dec. 25. Watch the trailer below.