Brad Pitt is at the center of one of 2022's most anticipated action movies, as Bullet Train has a great cast around him and a thrilling story. Despite Hollywood's continued reliance on known IP and familiar characters, Sony is hoping to launch another new movie franchise in 2022 after Uncharted. The movie pairs Brad Pitt with John Wick co-director David Leitch for a new high-speed action movie based on Kōtarō Isaka's novel instead of rebooting The Taking of Pelham 123 or other train-based films.
While Brad Pitt has been an A-list movie star in Hollywood for decades, David Leitch only broke onto the scene as a director in the last decade. He left John Wick behind to make another original assassin movie in Atomic Blonde before jumping to franchise blockbusters in Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. It was during Fox's Marvel movie that Leitch and Pitt first worked together, as Brad Pitt filmed a short cameo in Deadpool 2. They joined forces for Bullet Train in 2020, shortly after Leitch took over directing duties from Antonie Fuqua. Filming began later that year in the middle of COVID-19.
Thanks to the combination of Brad Pitt's star power and David Leitch's talents as an action-movie director, Bullet Train is one of the most anticipated movies of 2022. It could even be the start of a new franchise for Sony if everything goes well. Ahead of Bullet Train's release, here's everything you need to know about the story, cast, and more.
Bullet Train's release date is officially set for July 15, 2022. Sony originally announced that the movie would debut exclusively in theaters around the world in April 2022, but it was later moved to July. This allowed the potential action movie hit to avoid going head-to-head with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 at the box office. It currently has the July 15 weekend to itself when it comes to high-profile releases, although it will debut one week after Thor: Love and Thunder.
Brad Pitt leads a talented Bullet Train cast as an aging assassin known as Ladybug. Sandra Bullock (Ocean's Eight) is part of the ensemble as his handler, while Joey King (The Kissing Booth), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Brian Tyree Henry (Eternals), and Andrew Koji (Mortal Kombat) will all play rival assassins. Other confirmed Bullet Train cast members include Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai), Michael Shannon (Man of Steel), Zazie Beetz (Atlanta), Logan Lerman (Fury), Masi Oka (Heroes), Karen Fukuhara (The Boys), and rapper Bad Bunny.
Bullet Train's story follows Ladybug as he is ready to retire from his days of being an assassin. However, Sandra Bullock's Maria Beetle ropes him back in for one more mission: collecting a briefcase aboard a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka. It is only after getting on the locomotive that Ladybug discovers there are rival assassins onboard trying to complete the same mission. It leads to Ladybug having to fight these other assassins without being noticed so he can complete his mission.
Sony kicked off the Bullet Train marketing campaign in March 2022. A viral video was discovered online in late February, but the first Bullet Train trailer officially arrived in early March. It provided the first look at Brad Pitt fighting roughly a dozen different assassins. The footage highlighted the great action that the movie should offer, along with some comedic moments. The immediate internet reaction to Bullet Train's marketing was very positive, which could indicate Sony has a hit on its hands.
