Brad Pitt and a dog take on wolves and the Alaskan wilderness in “Heart of the Beast” trailer

Key Points

• Brad Pitt stars in the new film Heart of the Beast.

• The trailer for David Ayer’s survival thriller follows a military veteran and his combat dog in the Alaskan wilderness.

• J.K. Simmons also appears in Heart of the Beast.

Brad Pitt is going for an action-packed ride with Uber.

The Oscar winner officially enters the dog movie genre with David Ayer‘s Heart of the Beast, in which Pitt plays a former Special Forces officer, James Belmont, who is stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with his wounded combat dog, Odin. The first trailer finds James and Odin not only braving the elements but also facing off against a pack of wild wolves.

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,” James declares to his canine sidekick.

The duo should feel confident about their chances, considering James says they’ve “been through worse.” Odin lost a leg and teeth when he was hit by a brick during their time overseas.

The survival thriller is written by Cameron Alexander and directed by David Ayer. The filmmaker is an expert in macho two-handers, having written Training Day and The Fast and the Furious, as well as directing End of Watch. And Heart of the Beast is a reunion between Ayer and Pitt, after they previously collaborated on the 2014 war drama Fury. But Ayer believes that this is something next-level from Pitt.

“He’s a beast,” Ayer told GQ. “He was vulnerable and exposed himself in a way that I haven’t seen before. A constant theme from people who have seen the film is just how raw and believable and profound his performance is. I’ve done this long enough and worked with so many talented people that you know when someone’s fully showing up and putting themself through something above and beyond.”

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Meanwhile, Ayer and his team found Pitt’s scene partner on the other side of the world. While the film is set in Alaska, production took place in New Zealand, and that is home to the actor who played Odin: Uber, who once belonged to a first responder in the country’s mountainside. And it turned into a family affair, with Uber’s three sons being cast as his stand-ins.

Heart of the Beast, which also stars J.K. Simmons, opens in theaters on Sept. 25.

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