‘Monkey Man’ Trailer: Dev Patel Channels ‘John Wick’ In Buzzed-About Action Pic Coming April 5

In case you missed the buzz out of SXSW, director/star Devl Patel (“The Green Knight”) and producer Jordan Peele (“Nope”) have joined forces for an original Mumbai-set action film, “Monkey Man” that will be released by Universal Pictures early next month. Following excellent reviews out of Austin (read ours here), Universal has unleashed a new trailer. “Monkey Man” centers on a young man, Kid (played by Patel), who grew up in a rural Indian village only to move to the big city while discovering the violent thugs who wronged him in the past and enacting an action-packed journey of revenge. 

READ MORE: ‘Monkey Man’ Review: Dev Patel’s Goes Into ‘John Wick’ Revenge Mode In Mumbai-Set Actioner [SXSW]

Universal’s official logline for “Monkey Man” reads as follows: 

Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, an icon embodying strength and courage, ‘Monkey Man’ stars Patel as Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him. 

Patel, who directs and co-wrote the “Monkey Man” with Paul Angunawela and John Collee, and yes, it’s his feature-length directorial debut, leads an international cast. The ensemble includes Sharlto Copley (“District 9”), Sobhita Dhulipala (“Made In Heaven”), Pitobash (“Million Dollar Arm”), Vipin Sharma (“Hotel Mumbai”), Ashwini Kalsekar (“Ek Tha Hero”), Adithi Kalkunte (“Hotel Mumbai”), Sikandar Kher (“Aarya”), and Makarand Deshpande (“RRR”).

The actioner debuted recently at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, and has gathered some serious buzz, with the filmmaker earning a standing ovation with many comparisons to the Keanu Reeves revenge film “John Wick.” It’s a connection that The Playlist’s review from earlier in the month also made, and you can read it here. 

“Monkey Man” will debut exclusively in theaters on April 5 by Universal. Watch the new trailer below.