The visuals give a glimpse into the mood and feel of the much-anticipated 2024 HBO adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Since The Sympathizer TV series was first announced in 2021, details about the espionage thriller have continued to trickle out. This past fall, it was revealed that Kiều Chinh, MC Kỳ Duyên and Sandra Oh would be part of the ensemble cast alongside Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le and Alan Trong. The new trailer offers the first insights into how Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr., best known as Iron Man's Tony Starks, will portray four distinct characters reflective of the American establishment.
Trailer via HBO Max.
The dark satirical tale focuses on an unnamed spy residing in California after the war with America and his integration into various communities in Los Angeles. Readers of the book will recognize numerous settings in the trailer including a take on the making of "Apocalypse Now" in the Philippines.
Park Chan-wook, the auteur behind The Handmaiden and Oldboy, will direct at least three episodes of the series that he wrote with Don McKellar. It is being produced as a collaboration between HBO, Rhombus Media and A24, fresh off the latter's Best Picture Academy Award for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The Sympathizer was filmed in Los Angeles and Thailand and has yet to receive a specific release date in 2024. Meanwhile, The Committed, the second book in Viet Thanh Nguyen's Sympathizer trilogy was released in March 2021.
[Top image via Deadline]
