Leave The World Behind Trailer Throws Julia Roberts & Mahershala Ali Into An Apocalypse

Netflix's "Leave the World Behind" has been at the top of many must-see lists pretty much since the moment it was announced. That's largely due to the level of talent involved both in front of, and behind the camera, with the cast indeed fronting the talents of Mahershala Ali, Julia Roberts, and Ethan Hawke, and the film being directed by "Mr. Robot" mastermind Sam Esmail. While we're still more than a month away from its December 8, 2023 release, Netflix has officially put subscribers on notice by debuting the first "Leave the World Behind" trailer. 

The film follows two families holed up in a posh Long Island, New York home as society-crumbling events unfold around them. And if the trailer is any indication, the sci-fi-tinged stunner is set to deliver all the apocalyptic isolationist drama we can handle. Backed by LCD Soundsystem's "Oh Baby," the clip opens with Roberts' and Hawke's city-slicker couple setting off for a family getaway at the aforementioned location. While things are initially all fun and games, matters take a turn for the unexpected when certain vital technologies begin to fail.

Tension mounts when the apparent owners of the home (Ali and Myha'la Herrold) show up seeking refuge from the strange events they claim are plaguing the city and places beyond. As the action progresses, it becomes clear that whatever is happening may be bigger, and weirder than anyone might've anticipated. And with that knowledge, their already tough relationships therein only become more precarious.     

By the end of the "Leave the World Behind" trailer, the actual scope of the events is not entirely clear. Nor is much else for that matter, with Sam Esmail and company carving out that rarest of modern trailers that teases an in-depth look at what's to come, but doesn't give even the faintest of winks at its actual endgame. 

The film was adapted by Esmail from Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel of the same name. As that novel was both a National Book Award finalist and a fixture on many Best of 2020 lists, there are obviously quite a few folks out there who know all the burning secrets at the cryptic heart of "Leave the World Behind." Even as the cinematic adaptation alludes to the sort of grand-scale isolationist territory explored in numerous big-budget films (M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" and "The Happening" come to mind), there's clearly a lot more going on underneath the surface here.

"Leave the World Behind" bolsters that already front-loaded setup by building racial tension into the mix, as well as heavy doses of societal and technophobic paranoia, as each family makes moves to protect their own from whatever's happening, and possibly even each other. With a high-minded stylist like Esmail guiding the drama, "Leave the World Behind" looks to be a slow-burning treat with plenty more on its mind than shocking twists and spectacle.