Mark Wahlberg's haunting Patriots Day trailer details horrors of the Boston Marathon bombing

Entertainment Weekly
Updated

Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg have collaborated on several action-dramas based on true, harrowing events, including 2013's Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon, currently in theaters. Now, a teaser trailer for the pair's new film, Patriots Day, has debuted online, offering a glimpse at their latest reality-rooted project, which centers on the events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

The film follows the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attack, which left three people dead and injured 264 on the streets of the Massachusetts capital. Wahlberg plays Sgt. Tommy Saunders, a city police officer who joins survivors, first responders, and investigators in an effort to track down the perpetrators before they can strike again.

A haunting, piano-driven rendition of "America the Beautiful" plays over scenes from the film, which detail the initial attack and subsequent city-wide manhunt for the Tsarnaev brothers, played by Alex Wolff and Themo Melikidze.

Patriots Day's script, written by Berg, Matt Cook, and Oscar nominees Matt Charman, Eric Johnson, and Paul Tamasy, weaves together the intersecting stories of Saunders, Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon), Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Sgt. Jeffrey Pugliese (J.K. Simmons) and a nurse, Carol Saunders (Michelle Monaghan).

Simmons previously told EW he was skeptical about joining the film because he typically shies away from biopics or films based on real-life events, though he was swayed by Patriots Day's "extraordinary" screenplay.

"My part is a pretty small part of screentime in the movie, but obviously a very significant part in the events that occurred that day and the following day," the Academy Award winner said. "It’s just a beautifully put together script and I’m such a fan of Pete and Pete and Mark as a team from Lone Survivor, for example, but I was very excited to sign up and be a part of it... and now having met Sgt. Pugliese and his family and spent a little time with them I’m even more jazzed about it.”

Patriots Day opens Dec. 21 in Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles. It expands to theaters nationwide on Jan. 13. Watch the film's new trailer above, and check out its teaser poster below.