We finally have some first footage to drink in from one of 2025’s buzzier horror titles, the Jordan Peele-produced football horror film Him. The first teaser trailer for the Universal film, from Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions, hints at a story about breaking down an individual and sacrificing absolutely everything on the altar of fame and greatness. Our official synopsis is as follows:
A promising young up-and-coming football player (Tyriq Withers), is invited to train at the isolated compound of a dynasty team’s aging QB1. The legendary almost retired quarterback (Marlon Wayans) takes his protégé on a blood-chilling journey into the inner sanctum of fame, power and pursuit of excellence at any cost.
We can’t help but admire the choice of casting an actor like Wayans to anchor this sort of role, and it feels very on brand for a film associated with Jordan Peele, to take a well-known comedic veteran and give him an opportunity to shine in a much more twisted, psychologically intense role. Looking at the footage below, it seems like Wayans’ star QB intends to take in Withers’ young-and-promising prospect and break him both physically and psychologically, as he molds him to his own particular (potentially deranged) standards of excellence. Him is directed by Justin Tipping, from a script he wrote with Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie. It’s currently scheduled for a Sept. 19, 2025 release via Universal.
This looks like an almost Whiplash-esque pressure cooker of a film, a crucible that Withers’ character will have to survive. One wonders, of course, if the rewards are really worth all of the pain in the end: Is there any chance that Him could actually lead in the direction of the character rejecting the demands being put on him? Or when you’ve already invested so much in getting to this point, is it impossible to turn your back on the grind? We’ll just have to see in September. Check out the first trailer for Him below.
