Leonardo DiCaprio Is a Frazzled Revolutionary in First Trailer for One Battle After Another

By Jim Vorel  |  March 27, 2025 | 2:21pm
Movies News one battle after another
Leonardo DiCaprio Is a Frazzled Revolutionary in First Trailer for One Battle After Another

Awards nomination magnet–he’s still never won an Oscar despite seven nominations, if you can believe it–Paul Thomas Anderson is back with his latest expression of psychodrama pathos, with an equally lauded star: Leonardo DiCaprio. The upcoming collaboration between the two is One Battle After Another, once again written and directed by PTA, and once again an adaptation of sorts. Like his previous Inherent Vice (2014), One Battle After Another comes from the work of author Thomas Pynchon, although it’s described as being only a “loose adaptation” of Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland, and the author isn’t actually mentioned in the film’s marketing materials. We get the feeling that this one comes at least as much from the mind of PTA as it does from Pynchon, although after seeing the newly released first trailer below, the Inherent Vice comparison does seem to fit in terms of its absurdist tone. One Battle After Another is currently scheduled for a Sept. 26, 2025 release in the U.S.

The film’s overall plot revolves around DiCaprio’s frazzled-looking Bob Ferguson, a man who has spent time in a revolutionary sect, seemingly brought in through marriage to his wife, but one gets the sense that he wasn’t nearly as committed to the lifestyle as she was. Years after that (presumably failed) revolution, the group’s enemy resurfaces, leading Bob back into a world he had tried to cast away. Or as the short, official synopsis puts it: “When their evil enemy resurfaces after 16 years, a group of ex-revolutionaries reunites to rescue one of their own’s daughter.” It’s difficult not to detect some of PTA’s sarcasm there, what with the talk of “evil enemies” and all.

One Battle After Another features a promising cast–and Jonny Greenwood score!–that beyond DiCaprio includes Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infinity, Wood Harris, Shayna McHayle and actress-singer Alana Haim, returning after a starring role in PTA’s 2021 Licorice Pizza. Please enjoy the sight of DiCaprio being thrown from a moving vehicle in the trailer below, as we count down the days to Sept. 26, 2025.

 
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