Searchlight Pictures has released the first trailer for Behemoth!, the new music drama written and directed by Andor creator Tony Gilroy. Pedro Pascal stars as Alex Serian, a gifted cellist who returns home to Los Angeles after spending 20 years travelling and performing with orchestras. The official synopsis explains that music has been the “constant, all-consuming river” of Alex’s life, but his return to the city begins an unexpected journey that will change him.
The trailer opens with Alex performing on stage before moving between rehearsals, family conversations and flashes from different points in his life. While it keeps much of the story under wraps, the film appears to explore how his career has shaped his relationships and what it means to return to a place he left behind. Alex eventually moves into the world of Hollywood film scoring, with the story spanning 25 years of his life. Musical cues from the fictional films he works on will trigger memories that gradually reveal why he originally left Los Angeles and what has brought him home.
Pascal described Alex as someone who is not interested in fame or becoming a rock star, but whose “first language is music.” He said the film is about family, legacy and healing, as well as being a love letter to music and cinema. The role required extensive musical training, with Pascal saying that learning to play the cello convincingly was the hardest skill he had taken on for a performance, even compared with the physical demands of his previous action roles. Clearly, learning an instrument for the screen is no joke, then.
Olivia Wilde appears as Carol, Alex’s former partner, while Eva Victor plays Nadia, another cellist. Will Arnett stars as Alex’s brother, with Hank Azaria playing their musician father. The cast also includes Alexa Swinton, Kaya Ralls, Erik Griffin, JoBeth Williams, Margarita Levieva, Matthew Lillard and Will Arnett.
Gilroy wrote, directed and produced the film with Sanne Wohlenberg and John Gilroy. Behemoth! is his first feature as director since The Bourne Legacy in 2012, following his work on Andor.
Rather than using one composer throughout the film, Gilroy brought together nine musicians to create music for the different fictional movies within the story. The group includes Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Henry Jackman and Alan Silvestri.
For CultureCues, this trailer was genuinely intriguing. Listen, we will be honest: you had us at Pedro Pascal. We will watch almost anything with Papa Pedro in it, but the story also sounds properly interesting, and the trailer only made us more curious. There is a real tension running through it, and you can already feel how important music is to Alex’s life. Pascal looks completely committed to the role, cello and all. This is firmly on our awards-season watch list. Consider us tuned in.
Behemoth! will be released in cinemas on 4 December 2026.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.