Angel Has Fallen Trailer: Gerard Butler Gets Framed, Goes On The Run

The President's top guardian angel has fallen — but someone else was behind his fabricated demise. 

That's the premise of Angel Has Fallen, the first trailer for which Lionsgate dropped on Thursday, May 16. 

A sequel to 2013's action-thriller Olympus Has Fallen and 2016's Babak Najafi-directed follow-up London Has Fallen, Angel Has Fallen takes us back into the life of Secret Service agent Mike Banning, played by Gerard Butler, who is now framed for attempting to assassinate the President of the United States Allan Trumbull, portrayed by Morgan Freeman. 

Moments after President Trumbull names Banning as the director of Secret Service while the two are on a fishing trip to escape the hustle and bustle of D.C., a swarm of drones attacks the two men. Banning does all that he can to protect the President, leaping from the boat and diving under water to avoid being hit. Though it appears the two escape without life-threatening injuries, Banning wakes up handcuffed to a hospital bed with Jada Pinkett Smith's character Thompson telling him he's been charged with attempted murder on the Commander in Chief. Dun dun duuunnn!

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Banning's own Secret Service agents launch an investigation into his "assassination attempt," not knowing that it was another group of people who actually tried to kill the President. The trailer teases that Banning breaks free from prison and goes on the run, vowing to clear his name and track down the true perpetrators — who are coordinating an attack on Air Force One. Enlisting the help of his father, Clay Banning (Nick Nolte), Banning promises the President that he'll continue protecting him. Though people will fall when they make their ultimate move, the President won't — Banning will make sure of it. 

Overall, the first trailer for Angel Has Fallen embodies everything viewers have come to expect from the Has Fallen series: bombastic action, a political spin, cool explosions, a mysterious group of bad guys, lots of gun fights, and Gerard Butler's gruff American accent. It will be interesting to see how Angel Has Fallen fares amongst critics and at the box office considering its predecessors weren't all that well-loved by reviewers or moviegoers. With new director Ric Roman Waugh on board, plus a story that turns the hero into a perceived villain who has to right many wrongs, Angel Has Fallen could be the surprise stand-out of the trilogy. 

Also starring Danny Huston as Wade Jennings, Michael Landes as Sam Wilcox, Tim Blake Nelson as Vice President Kirby, Piper Perabo as Leah Banning, and Lance Reddick as Secret Service Director Gentry, Angel Has Fallen will touch down in theaters on August 23.