Matthew McConaughey sheds his hair, strikes ‘Gold’ in teaser for his upcoming film

Gold tells the story of a prospector named Kenny Wells (McConaughey, who shed a good deal of his hair to play the balding main character), who goes searching for wealth — and a new lease on life — deep in the heart of the Indonesian jungle in the late 1980s.

The film is inspired by true events, and a new teaser for it was released Thursday. We can’t help but see a bit of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre in its premise. As it does in that film, we expect that the eponymous precious metal will create plenty of greed and moral corruption in this one.

It certainly looks that way in this nearly two-minute spot, as McConaughey speaks of “Gold!” like a man possessed, pointing out that “a little gold can just change everything.”

The trailer takes us from the jungles of Indonesia to the New York Stock Exchange and back again, all as Wells looks back on the experience. “What a goddamn ride it was!” he says. Considering that the trailer ends with Wells befriending an ornery wild tiger, we’ll take his word for it.

Also of note here is the presence of veteran screenwriter Stephen Gaghan (Traffic). Gaghan will be directing this time around, rather than writing. That duty is entrusted to the duo of Patrick Massett and John Zinman, who previously collaborated on the television series The Blacklist and Friday Night Lights.

The film also stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Rachael Taylor (Jessica Jones), Toby Kebbell (Warcraft: The Beginning), and Edgar Ramírez (Joy). Gold is scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas Day.