After months of anticipation and rumors, Twi-Hards have finally been able to see what all the fuss was about. Rob Pattinson, the 22-year-old English actor behind the Twilight franchise, premiered the first teaser trailer for his upcoming movie Last Stand at E3 2016 today.
The trailer takes us behind the scenes of the upcoming film, which according to the synopsis, “follows the lives of a group of people as they try to survive an apocalypse.”
While some might argue that the film’s premise is a bit clichéd, the trailer does a great job of visually depicting the struggles of self-preservation that these characters are going through. From a snowy forest to an underground shelter to a post-apocalyptic world, the clip effortlessly weaves an enchanting, spellbinding story.
Pattinson plays Edward, the scruffy, street-smart son of a former professional skateboarder who has now taken it upon himself to protect his small family from a world gone mad. While the trailer suggests that this is a post-apocalyptic story, it is actually set in the present day, and the apocalyptic elements are merely meant to augment the current state of society and the world at large.
Pattinson is arguably the hottest export the world of cinema has ever seen, but this is the first time that his career has truly managed to cross over into the mainstream. Along with his Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart, the Englishman has achieved pop culture domination with his portrayal of romantic leads in the Twilight franchise. The first novel in the series, Twilight, was published in 2006 and turned into a movie in 2009. Since then, the franchise has spawned three more movies, with the fourth installment slated for a 2017 release.
Stewart plays Bella, the shy, naïve protagonist of the Twilight saga. Together, the pair became an itemized joke on social media after they were photographed kissing during an appearance in 2014. The couple’s engagement was later confirmed, and they were married in a double wedding ceremony with Pattinson’s older brother, Luke, in December 2015.
The Last Stand will hit theaters on November 12th, and from what we’ve seen so far, it will not be an easy watch. In true epic film fashion, the trailer ends with a bang rather than a whimper, as Edward and the others finally managed to take down the Alpha. Still, this is only the beginning of the turmoil these characters are about to face.
Why Is This Actor Popular?
With his blend of brashness and British manners, Rob Pattinson has completely reinvented the way we look at British actors in Hollywood. Where once we might have seen thespians like Ralph Feinnes or Leonard Rossiter, the average age of the now-popular “bobby” is closer to 60. While many still debate his acting prowess (he was notably snubbed by the Royal Television Society for a 2017 awards ceremony), it is clear that this star is poised to become a major Hollywood player.
This success is undoubtedly a product of the times. Where once we might have looked to the stage for a vicarious exploration of the darker sides of human nature, we now have cinematic narratives that offer us deeper, more complex characters and worlds. As a result, our appetite for storytelling has increased, and so has the popularity of the actors who embody those stories.
What Is This Film’s Genre?
So far, the only information we have regarding Last Stand is its somewhat confusingly-titled genre, which is listed as “coming-of-age, post-apocalyptic thriller.” The latter part of that description certainly seems to indicate that this is a story about a group of survivors trying to make their way in a world that no longer makes sense. One of the survivors, a young woman named Tanya (Mackenzie Davis), sums it up best when she utters what sounds like an ominous warning at the end of the trailer: “This is our world now.”
The only other information worth mentioning is the film’s apparent connection to the apocalyptic novel The Children of Men, by the British author Kingsley Amis. According to the synopsis, “a nuclear holocaust leads to a struggle for survival and protection between two groups of people; one being the offspring of aging baby boomers, and the other being comprised of younger generations looking to them for leadership.”
The cast and crew of Last Stand are currently hard at work on the film, which is currently scheduled for a November 12th, 2017 theatrical release. Be sure to stay tuned to ComingSoon.net for more news and commentary as we get closer to the big day!