‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ Trailer: Angelina Jolie Brings Star Power to Fiery Thriller

In recent years, Angelina Jolie’s acting career has been dominated by voice work (see “The One and Only Ivan” and “Kung Fu Panda” franchise) and franchise fare (two “Maleficent” films and the upcoming “Eternals”), which makes the upcoming Western thriller “Those Who Wish Me Dead” a notable change of pace for the A-list Oscar winner. Based on Michael Koryta’s novel of the same name, the film also stars Nicholas Hoult, Aidan Gillen, Jon Bernthal, and Tyler Perry.

The official synopsis for “Those Who Wish Me Dead” from Warner Bros. reads: “Oscar winner Jolie (‘Girl, Interrupted,’ the ‘Maleficent’ films) stars as Hannah, a smoke jumper still reeling from the loss of three lives she failed to save from a fire when she comes across a traumatized 12-year-old boy with nowhere else to turn.”

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“Those Who Wish Me Dead” marks the first theatrical directorial effort from Taylor Sheridan after 2017’s “Wind River.” Sheridan is best known for creating the television drama “Yellowstone” and for writing films such as “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water,” the latter of which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

“He has a unique voice when it comes to characters within America, which had not been a prior focus of my work,” Jolie recently told Entertainment Weekly about her decision to collaborate with Sheridan. “I wanted to be in this world with him.”

Jolie also told EW that she consulted with real firefighters before production, as the shoot required her to act against real fires. The actress explained, “The first day we were in the fire, [I noticed] the heat and how quickly the winds would change and how quickly the fire would suddenly take to a tree that you weren’t expecting. Our respect just grew day after day for these people on the front lines and how difficult this work is.”

Warner Bros. will release “Those Who Wish Me Dead” in theaters and on HBO Max starting May 14. Watch the official trailer below.

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