Palmer: Justin Timberlake returns to film in emotional trailer

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Justin Timberlake returns to acting in the first trailer for the Apple TV+ film, Palmer. While he did lend his voice to this year's Trolls World Tour, this marks his first on-screen appearance in a film since the 2017 Woody Allen movie Wonder Wheel.

In the film, Timberlake plays a former college football star named Eddie Palmer who is trying to get life together after serving 12 years in prison. He returns home to Louisiana, where he moves back in with Vivian (June Squibb), the grandmother who raised him. While trying to keep his head down and rebuild a quiet life for himself, Palmer is haunted by memories of his glory days and the suspicious eyes of his small-town community. Things become more complicated when Vivian’s hard-living neighbor Shelly (Juno Temple) disappears on a prolonged bender, leaving her precocious and unique 7-year-old son Sam (Ryder Allen), often the target of bullying, in Palmer’s reluctant care. In time, Palmer is drawn into a more hopeful world as he forges a connection with Sam through their shared experience of being made to feel different by those around them. Life improves for Palmer, and a romance develops between him and Sam’s teacher Maggie (Alisha Wainwright). An inspiring and unexpected journey unfolds for the three of them, but soon Palmer’s past threatens to tear apart this new life.

Justin Timberlake began his career as an actor/musical performer on The Mickey Mouse Club in the 1990s before achieving massive global stardom as a member of the boy band NSYNC. From there, Timberlake launched an equally successful solo career and eventually stepped back into acting. Timberlake received how notices from critics for his roles in Alpha Dog, The Social Network, and Inside Llewyn Davis.

The movie is directed by Fisher Stevens and will debut on Apple TV+ on January 29, 2021. Did YOU like the trailer for Palmer? Check out the film's official key art below!