It turned out to be very appropriate that the CinemaCon presentation for MGM/United Artists Releasing (UAR) started with the Rocky theme, as the Italian Stallion himself, Sylvester Stallone, absolutely stole the presentation with first-look footage from his superhero film Samaritan. While not scheduled to come out until August 26th, 2022, an extended glimpse at the trailer was presented as part of MGM’s sizzle reel for upcoming their upcoming slate, and boy does it look rad.
In the footage, you see Stallone as a garbage man being stalked by a young boy (Javon Walton), who’s convinced he’s a long-lost superhero named Samaritan. Stallone tells him that he’s not, but the ruse is broken when he gets hit by a truck and is able to snap all of his bones back into place.
From there, we get Stallone explaining to the boy that “things fall apart when you stop caring, and I stopped caring a long time ago.” I’ve got to say, this movie, which Overlord‘s Julius Avery directs, looks terrific. For one thing, it’s Stallone’s biggest solo movie in years. It’s an A-class studio film with a healthy budget, and Avery seems to be making the most out of having such an iconic star in the leading role. We all know Sly as an icon, and his new character, Samaritan, could become a classic for him.
We also got a brief look at Pilou Asbæk, who seems to be the main villain, but the real meat of the trailer was an extended action sequence where Stallone demolishes an army of bad guys. We see that he’s bulletproof, and he’s dispatching them with his bare hands, a sledgehammer and more. It also definitely looks R-rated, with the teaser trailer ending with him killing a bad guy in a pretty brutal way.
While I don’t know if anyone went into CinemaCon thinking Sylvester Stallone’s Samaritan would be a show-stopper, people applauded at the end of the trailer, and exhibitors in attendance seemed psyched. So I can see why MGM opted to save this one until (presumably) screens are back at full capacity. Stallone’s been pushing this one hard on his Instagram account, and it looks like a really solid vehicle for him.
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