Warner Bros. Pictures has released the first teaser for “One Battle After Another,” the latest film from writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Sean Penn. It’s Anderson’s latest film since 2021’s critically acclaimed “Licorice Pizza” and releases in theaters on Sept. 26.
The short teaser arrives before a full trailer next week. It mainly shows the characters firing off several guns in a field, with Taylor’s character pregnant and shooting off a rifle as DiCaprio sips a drink and watches. The baby arrives in the next scene, with a narrator asking “What are you gonna do about this baby?” Immediately, the teaser cuts to the grown-up child firing a rifle just like her mother.
“Just when you think you got a handle on things,” someone says. DiCaprio, older and with a goatee, looks down the scope of a gun and Penn’s character drags the screaming young woman through an alleyway.
Prior to the teaser being revealed, the only details as to the film’s plot were that it has a “contemporary setting” and that it’s an ensemble piece, but even before any story was revealed, rumors were already circulating that the film would be Anderson’s most expensive. Early Variety’s reports estimated “One Battle After Another” was rumored to cost upwards of $100 million, with the most recent number as high as $140 million.
Anderson’s last project “Licorice Pizza” lost tens of millions of dollars after failing to recoup its $40 million budget, regardless of the film’s positive critical reception. “Licorice Pizza” breakout star Alana Haim will also reunite with Anderson for “One Battle After Another.” Benicio del Toro, Wood Harris, Shayna McHayle and Chase Infiniti also star.
The film began principal photography under the working title “BC Project” in January 2024 in California, where the majority of Anderson’s films take place. “One Battle After Another” was shot on 35 mm film using VistaVision cameras. In addition to production in California, additional filming took place on-location in El Paso, Texas.
“One Battle After Another” is the sixth feature collaboration between Anderson and composer Johnny Greenwood, as well as the fifth effort between Anderson and first assistant director Adam Somner, who died in November 2024. The film is scheduled to be released on August 8 by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Watch the teaser below:
