'Little Things' Trailer: Denzel Washington Is Trying To Track Down A Killer And Jared Leto May Be The Culprit

It's been a couple of years since we last saw Denzel Washington on the big screen, delivering justice on the streets in The Equalizer 2. Now he's back laying down the law as a county sheriff called in to help with a string of grisly murders.

The Little Things finds Denzel Washington as Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon as he's asked to assist a Los Angeles detective (Rami Malek) in his pursuit of a murderer who is terrorizing the city and killing women over and over again (that murderer may or may not be Jared Leto). Deke shows impeccable skills throughout the investigation, but it appears as if he's also harboring a dark secret of his own. Watch the trailer below.

My immediate thought at the end of this trailer is that Denzel Washington may in fact be a killer himself, which is what makes him so good at noticing the titular "little things" that help him track down killers. After all, what other reason would there be for a man to work for 15 years in the police department without a promotion unless he's trying to keep a low profile? That might be too obvious, but there's clearly some kind of twist here, and it's really putting off a Se7en kind of vibe. But maybe we don't want to get our hopes too high by making a David Fincher comparison right out of the gate.

The Little Things also stars Jared Leto doing his best creepy killer, as well as Natalie Morales (Battle of the Sexes), Terry Kinney (Mile 22), Chris Bauer (Sully), Joris Jarsky (Bad Blood), Isabel Arraiza (Pearson) and Michael Hyatt (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend).John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Founder) is directing from his own script, and he's also reunited with some of his previous collaborators, including director of photography John Schwartzman, production designer Michael Corenblith, and editor Robert Fritzen, and costume designer Daniel Orlandi, who all worked with him on The Founder. Composer Thomas Newman is handling the score.

Here's the official synopsis for The Little Things:

Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon (Denzel Washington) is sent to Los Angeles for what should have been a quick evidence-gathering assignment. Instead, he becomes embroiled in the search for a killer who is terrorizing the city. Leading the hunt, L.A. Sheriff Department Sergeant Jim Baxter (Rami Malek), impressed with Deke's cop instincts, unofficially engages his help. But as they track the killer, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke's past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.

The Little Things debuts in theaters and on HBO Max starting on January 29, 2021.