Under The Banner Of Heaven Release Date, Cast, And Trailer - What We Know So Far
Andrew Garfield is teaming up with "Normal People" breakout star Daisy Edgar-Jones for his next project, an FX limited series titled "Under the Banner of Heaven." The project was first announced in June 2021, via Deadline, with Garfield and Edgar-Jones both already attached to the project. The FX for Hulu series is created by Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for 2008's "Milk." Black also wrote 2011's "J. Edgar" and created and wrote the series "When We Rise" (via IMDb). The series is directed by David Mackenzie, whose previous credits include 2016's "Hell or High Water" "Lingua Franca" director Isabel Sandoval also directed at least one episode, according to Variety.
"Under the Banner of Heaven" is based on the 2003 nonfiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, which dives deep into a fascinating true crime story. As noted by Deadline, the book chronicles "a devout [Mormon] detective" who begins investigating a double murder that seems to be connected to the killers' fundamentalist Mormonism. With such an intriguing premise and an exciting cast, "Under the Banner of Heaven" sure seems to have a lot of promise.
For those curious, read on to find out more about "Under the Banner of Heaven," including its release date, cast, and trailer.
When will Under the Banner of Heaven be released?
Earlier this month, we got the announcement of a release date for "Under the Banner of Heaven." As reported by Deadline, the upcoming series will premiere April 28 on Hulu.
Showrunner and creator Dustin Lance Black confirmed via Instagram that shooting had begun In August of 2021 in Calgary, Alberta in Canada. Then, a few months later, in December of 2021, he took to the platform once again to post about wrapping up production on "Under the Banner of Heaven." Alongside his wrap-up photo, Black referenced the long road it took to get the project off the ground — there has been talk of adapting the book since 2011. "After a decade of struggle and the help of so many dedicated artists, that's a wrap on [Under the Banner of Heaven]," he wrote. "Too many pics and thanks for one post so this is only the first of many. Now time for a very long nap."
Lucky for us, we're getting the premiere of the show just four months after filming wrapped up. And in the meantime, we have a trailer to keep us occupied (more on that later).
Who will be in Under the Banner of Heaven?
As mentioned above, Andrew Garfield leads the cast of "Under the Banner of Heaven," with Daisy Edgar-Jones also on the roster. Garfield, who rose to prominence playing the lead in 2012's "The Amazing Spider-Man," most recently starred in two films that were released in 2021, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" and "tick, tick...BOOM!" — the latter of which led to an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Alongside "Under the Banner of Heaven," Garfield has another upcoming miniseries in the works, titled "Brideshead Revisited" (via IMDb).
Edgar-Jones made a name for herself with her starring role in 2020's "Normal People," the Hulu series based on the best-selling novel by Sally Rooney. She also appeared in the drama series "War of the Worlds" from 2019 to 2021 and, most recently, starred in the Hulu horror romance film "Fresh," which was released this month, alongside Sebastian Stan. Next, she'll be starring in "Where the Crawdads Sing," the feature film based on the bestselling novel by Delia Owens.
The rest of the cast is made up of Rohan Mead ("The Handmaid's Tale"), newcomer child actor Beau McHattie, Scott Michael Campbell ("Shameless") and "Avatar" star Sam Worthington, amongst others.
What's in the trailer for Under the Banner of Heaven?
"Under the Banner of Heaven" follows a detective named Jeb Pyre (Andrew Garfield), who begins investigating the murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Edgar-Jones) and her young daughter in Salt Lake Valley, Utah. According to the official synopsis, Pyre then "uncovers buried truths about the origins of the [Latter-day Saints] religion and the violent consequences of unyielding faith." Pyre's discoveries, as further noted, lead him to "question his own faith."
The trailer, which was released last month, sets the ominous and eerie tone for the upcoming series. It opens with Pyre at a murder scene, paired with a voiceover of him saying, "This stays between us." He then details that what he has found through the investigation thus far points to "beliefs that [he] has only ever heard whispers of." We then see shots of the town where the story takes place, including kids riding bikes, a parade going on, and a child's baptism. Throughout the trailer, we also see brief glimpses of Brenda, such as one instance in which she, with a huge grin on her face, is playing with her infant daughter outside. The clip ends with Pyre saying, "I wonder how something so horrific could have come to pass."
We can't wait to see how this intriguing story plays out when "Under the Banner of Heaven" premieres next month.