Leonardo DiCaprio embarks on a high-stakes mission in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 'One Battle After Another' teaser

Warner Bros. Pictures dropped the very first teaser trailer for ‘One Battle After Another,’ an action thrill ride starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The action film, co-written and helmed by Paul Thomas Anderson, is about a group of previous revolutionaries summoned back together when their long-standing nemesis is back after escaping for 16 years. Anderson's return to filmmaking is the film following his critically lauded 2021 release, ‘Licorice Pizza,’ earning three Academy Awards nominations.
The 21-second teaser provides a brief glimpse of the dark tone and intense plot of the film. The teaser starts with DiCaprio's character sipping a drink nonchalantly while his pregnant girlfriend, Teyana Taylor, fires an automatic rifle in an open Western setting. The teaser continues with rapid shots, which include the delivery of a baby and a narrator asking, "What are you gonna do about this baby? Later scenes depict the kid—now an adult—playing with rifles, mimicking what his mother used to do.
The trailer ends with the ominous line, "Just when you think you've got a handle on things," and then gunfire and chaos.". The cinematography of the film has been described as raw and rustic, featuring DiCaprio in a much differently distinctive way than ever before. The ensemble also includes Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor, and Alana Haim, who reunited with Anderson following Licorice Pizza. One Battle After Another is allegedly Anderson's most expensive film to date, at an estimated $100–$140 million.
It was his first mainstream film since playing morally ambiguous Ernest Burkhart in Martin Scorsese's critically well-received Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). It was "the greatest performance in the career" according to IndieWire. In 2021, he starred with Cate Blanchett in Don't Look Up, the sci-fi spoof satire, and the period movie ‘Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood’ (2019) starring alongside Brad Pitt.
Fans are eagerly waiting for the ‘One Battle After Another’ full-length trailer, which is to be released next week. The movie itself is due to be released on August 8, 2025. With its modern-day setting and action-packed plot, it will surely be another interesting addition to DiCaprio's rich filmography.
As Anderson shifts from the wistful coloration of Licorice Pizza to the suspenseful seriousness of ‘One Battle After Another,’ viewers are promised a movie experience worthy of its descriptive title.