Stop … hammer armageddon time! The trailer for James Gray’s upcoming film, Armageddon Time, was just released, lending audiences their first look at a killer cast, gorgeous cinematography, and a deep sense of distrust of nostalgia. “A deeply personal coming-of-age story about the strength of family and the generational pursuit of the American Dream†is how Focus Features described the film in a release, but the trailer gives us a bit more plot. It is a semi-autobiographical look at a Jewish family growing up in the Reagan era, focusing on the young son of the family who is friends with a Black boy his age despite the systemic racism that is tearing their relationship apart.
The Gray self-insert boy is named Paul Graff and is played by young actor Banks Repeta, and his friend is played by The Wonder Years’s Jaylin Webb. The rest of the cast are familiar faces with BFFs Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong playing the young white boy’s parents and Anthony Hopkins playing his grandfather who coaches him on anti-racism. But hey, if you’re not jonesing for a depressing nostalgia trip, the film will have Jessica Chastain in a cameo as Maryanne Trump, and maybe that’s enough.