'The Jesus Rolls' Trailer: It's A 'The Big Lebowski' Spin-Off That Looks Nothing Like 'The Big Lebowski'

The first real The Jesus Rolls trailer is here, and it looks...strange. This Big Lebowski spin-off clearly has nothing to do with The Big Lebowski, even though both films feature a similar character: Jesus Quintana, played by John Turturro. While Jesus was a minor supporting player in the Coen Brothers cult classic, he takes center stage here, leading a film full of lowlifes and rag-tag crooks up to no good. Watch The Jesus Rolls trailer below.

The Jesus Rolls is clearly a passion project for John Turturro. After The Big Lebowski, the actor and filmmaker pleaded with the Coen Brothers to sign off on a spin-off based around his character Jesus Quintana, and the Coens did so.  Turturro started filming it back in 2016...but the film, which was previously called Going Places, failed to materialize.

Now, here in the year 2020, we're finally going to be able to see this thing. Rather than a proper Big Lebowski sequel, or even spin-off, The Jesus Rolls is actually a remake of the 1974 French film Going Places, in which "Two whimsical, aimless thugs harass and assault women, steal, murder, and alternately charm, fight, or sprint their way out of trouble." Here's the synopsis of Turturro's take:

Hours after being released from prison for good behavior, Jesus Quintana (John Turturro) reunites with his best friend and fellow underachiever Petey (Bobby Cannavale). In the first in a series of rapidly escalating bad decisions, they steal a vintage car parked in front of an upscale salon and hit the road for a no-holds-barred joyride — until the car's gun-toting owner (Jon Hamm) catches up with them, wounding Petey. Fleeing the scene with fiercely free-spirited shampooist Marie (Audrey Tautou), Jesus and Petey continue their adventure in a series of stolen cars, cementing their partnership with an epic petty-crime spree and a three-way romance.

Look, I like Turturro. I like The Big Lebowski. And I like the cast here around Turturro – Bobby Cannavale, Audrey Tautou, Christopher Walken, Jon Hamm, Pete Davidson, and Susan Sarandon. But I have very little faith in whatever this is. The fact that it sat around since 2016 is not exactly a great sign, and I'd also add that the thing that made Jesus so special in the Big Lebowski was his limited screentime.

But maybe this will all have been worth the wait. The Jesus Rolls in theaters and on demand March 6.