Director James Gray’s The Lost City of Z has already been the subject of critical acclaim leading up to its official wide release in theaters next year, so it’s no surprise that this week’s arrival of the first trailer for the film is generating quite a bit of buzz.
Released by Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street, The Lost City of Z casts Charlie Hunnam as British explorer Percy Fawcett. It tells the story of Fawcett’s journeys into the Amazon in the early 20th century to first discover, then study a mysterious, advanced civilization inhabiting the region — only to disappear there along with his son in 1925. The film is based on David Grann’s best-selling novel of the same name.
Along with Sons of Anarchy star Hunnam in the role of Fawcett, the film also casts Sienna Miller (Foxcatcher, The Girl) as Fawcett’s wife, Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Fawcett’s son, and Robert Pattinson (The Twilight series) as Fawcett’s partner, Corporal Henry Costin. Supporting cast members include Angus Macfadyen, Edward Ashley, Clive Francis, Ian McDiarmid, and Franco Nero.
The film chronicles Fawcett’s repeated journeys into what is now the Brazilian city of Barra do Garças during the dawn of the 20th century. Fawcett was roundly dismissed for reporting the discovery of a relatively advanced culture living in the region, and made several return trips in order to bring back proof of the civilizations’s existence.
Grann’s 2009 novel explores the mystery of Fawcett’s disappearance, as well as the many attempts to find him and the mysterious civilization he claimed to have discovered living in the region. Grann himself made a trip into the Amazon to learn more about Fawcett’s experiences, which he describes in the novel.
The Lost City of Z was screened as the closing film of the 54th New York Film Festival in October, and has received near-universal acclaim from critics. The film will have its wide release in theaters April 21, 2017.
