'Promising Young Woman' Trailer: The Carey Mulligan Sundance Darling Is Heading To Theaters This Christmas

Promising Young Woman premiered to raves at Sundance ealrier this year, with many praising the rape revenge black comedy by Killing Eve head writer Emerald Fennell in her feature directorial debut, as well as star Carey Mulligan's sharp lead performance as a victim of sexual assault who enacts bloody vengeance on all men. Now it seems like Focus Features is staking it all on that lead performance, setting Promising Young Woman for a December release this year — just in time for an Oscar campaign for Mulligan. Watch the new Promising Young Woman trailer below.

I've been excited for Promising Young Woman since the first trailer hit in December of last year, and the raves coming out of Sundance only pushed it higher on my most anticipated list. Then the pandemic hit, and Promising Young Woman was pushed further and further from its original April release date. The December theatrical release date doesn't bode too well for Promising Young Woman, but there are a few silver linings: by dropping it in prime awards season, it appears that Focus Features is gearing up for an Oscar campaign for star Carey Mulligan, which she totally deserves, especially after this vengeful turn is such a refreshing change of pace from her wounded naif roles. And perhaps Focus Features could be using the same release strategy that Universal is employing with Freaky, by playing the film in theaters before putting in on VOD early as part of the deal that studios have struck with AMC.

Promising Young Woman also stars Bo Burnham, in his first major acting role since directing the award winning Eighth Grade, along with Alison Brie (GLOW), Connie Britton (American Horror Story), Adam Brody (Ready or Not), Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls), Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black), Max Greenfield (New Girl), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World), Sam Richardson (Detroiters), and Molly Shannon (Divorce).

Here is the synopsis for Promising Young Woman:

From visionary director Emerald Fennell (Killing Eve) comes a delicious new take on revenge. Everyone said Cassie (Carey Mulligan) was a promising young woman... until a mysterious event abruptly derailed her future.  But nothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be: she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life by night.  Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs of the past in this thrilling and wildly entertaining story.

Promising Young Woman hits U.S. theaters on Christmas Day, December 25, 2020.