A still from ‘Wild Horse Nine’
| Photo Credit: Searchlight Pictures
Searchlight Pictures has released a new trailer for Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as longtime CIA partners sent to Easter Island shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup. Written and directed by McDonagh, the film follows the pair as a seemingly straightforward trip to see the island’s famous Moai statues becomes tangled with political conspiracies, their own history and a pair of rebellious students. The film opens in cinemas on November 6.
Malkovich plays Chris, with Rockwell as Lee, who are dispatched from Santiago by their bureau chief MJ, played by Steve Buscemi. Chris has developed a bond with two young rebels, played by Mariana Di Girolamo and Ailín Salas, while the relationship between the two agents becomes increasingly strained as Chris begins revealing secrets from his CIA past. The film’s historical setting places their journey alongside the events leading to the military coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power in Chile.
The trailer introduces McDonagh’s familiar combination of dark comedy and violent encounters. Chris is candid about his work and appears to have little interest in keeping his secrets buried, while Lee attempts to keep their assignment under control. Their conversations in the trailer expose the personal history between them as the political circumstances surrounding their mission become harder to ignore.
The supporting cast includes Tom Waits and Parker Posey, with Buscemi, Di Girolamo and Salas joining Malkovich and Rockwell. Carter Burwell, who previously scored McDonagh’s In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, provides the music. Ben Davis serves as cinematographer, while Mikkel E. G. Nielsen edits the film.
Wild Horse Nine reunites McDonagh with Rockwell after Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which earned Rockwell the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. It also marks McDonagh’s latest feature following The Banshees of Inisherin, which received nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. The new film premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival before screening at Telluride and Toronto.
McDonagh has said the story grew from his longstanding interest in the CIA’s activities in Chile during the 1970s and from a trip he made to Easter Island. He developed the setting over several iterations before combining the political backdrop with the relationship between Chris and Lee.
Wild Horse Nine will be released in theatres on November 6.
Published – September 24, 2026 02:08 pm IST
