Dev Patel Proves He Is the Action Star We Deserve in the First Trailer for ‘Monkey Man’

The very first trailer for Monkey Man hit the internet and reminded everyone that it’s time for Dev Patel to stop being criminally underrated in Hollywood. The man can do anything and everything, from rom-coms to thrill-packed action flicks.

Patel has been delivering acclaimed work since his breakthrough role as Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, earning a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor. He later won a BAFTA for his performance in Lion (2016) and was nominated for an Oscar. Patel recently delivered a stunning performance in one of the best adaptations of medieval poems and Arthurian cycles ever made, The Green Knight, where he plays the titular Ser Gawain—but maybe that’s just the voice of my heart speaking.

Still, Monkey Man is already shaping up to be a watershed moment in Patel’s career, judging by the internet buzz that the trailer has generated. The movie is very much Patel’s creation—it’s his directorial debut, which he co-wrote with Paul Angunawela and John Collee.

Patel is also one of the movie’s producers, alongside acclaimed filmmaker Jordan Peele, who acquired Monkey Man from Netflix, who had originally bought rights for the film. This move ensures that we’ll be able to see Monkey Man in theatres rather than on streaming.

What is Monkey Man’s plot?

While the finer details of the plot are obviously under wraps, the story centers around Patel’s character Kid, and is inspired by the figure of Hanuman, a deity in Hinduism revered as a symbol of devotion and courage.

Kid is a young man who, wearing a gorilla mask, takes beating after beating in an underground fight club as a way to earn some money. But there comes a point where Kid’s years of suppressed rage and terrible childhood trauma boil over. So after he manages to infiltrate the city’s corrupt elite he begins his violent quest for vengeance—both for his own family and for his fellow poor and powerless.

Who is in the cast of Monkey Man?

The cast of Monkey Man, besides Dev Patel as Kid, includes an ensemble of actors and actresses from Indian cinema like Sobhita Dhulipala, Sikandar Kher, Vipin Sharma, Pitobash, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte and Makarand Deshpande, as well as South African actor Sharlto Copley. 

So when is Monkey Man coming out?

Distributed worldwide by Universal Pictures, Monkey Man is set to be released in cinemas on April 5, 2024.

(featured image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)