Bullet Train: Cast, Plot, and Everything Else We Know (2024)

The first trailer for Sony's Bullet Train has already drawn in quite a bit of excitement with Brad Pitt's return to action movies. This action-packed blockbuster shows the Oscar winner crossing paths with some of the world's deadliest assassins on board a bullet train. Footage of the film first dropped at CinemaCon last year and teased Pitt going toe-to-toe with renowned reggaeton star Bad Bunny. From that first look, we were already hooked into this strangely hilarious scene featuring Pitt and Bad Bunny beating up each other over a briefcase.

The first trailer features Pitt's interaction with Atlanta's Brian Tyree Henry, who both attempt to keep quiet as they beat each other up inside the "Quiet Car." Based on what we've seen, Bullet Train holds the recipe to be a fun action thriller with John Wick's co-director, David Leitch as the director. It's almost guaranteed to have action-filled scenes that thrill and entertain moviegoers. The last two years of not being able to enjoy summer blockbusters in theaters have been quite somber without sitting in a sold-out screening with a packed audience. For this reason, Bullet Train seems to be the perfect film to welcome us back.

With all that being said, let's look at what we know about Bullet Train. What can we expect to see from Brad Pitt as an assassin? Who else is starring in this already star-studded cast? When will it be released? Here's everything we know.

Plot: All We Know

Bullet Train is adapted from Kotaro Isaka's bestselling novel Maria Beetle and will loosely follow the same storyline that is described to be a satirical thriller. As such, Brad Pitt leads the film playing Ladybug, a trained assassin who is about ready to hang the towel until his handler, Maria Beetle(Sandra Bullock), pulls him back in for an assignment where he must collect a briefcase on a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Morioka. However, things don't go according to plan after he discovers that five of the world's most skilled assassins are also on board, with similar objectives.

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There's been some discussion whether the film would follow the novel's dark satirical tone. One of the stars of the movie, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, told HERO Magazine that it started as a "dark, R-rated, vicious action piece" but changed to an action-comedy during filming after the cast turned the set into a fun atmosphere. Judging from the trailer alone, diverting the tone was a smart move as this film's cast holds an impressive amount of comedic talent, including Tyree Henry. He has been credited by Taylor-Johnson for providing laughter in front and behind the camera. Pitt has also proven himself to handle comedic scenes after his hilarious cameo in Deadpool 2 and his award-winning performance in Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood.

Cast: All We Know

The Bullet Train cast has quite the roster of talent, with Oscar nominees and winners including Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, and Michael Shannon. Previously mentioned, Brian Tyree Henry joins the cast playing Lemon, as well as Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Tangerine, Andrew Koji as Kimura, and Joey King as Prince. The rest of the cast includes Logan Lerman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Zazie Beetz, Karen f*ckuhara, and Bad Bunny.

A few of the names mentioned have amassed quite a bit of excitement, especially Bad Bunny. For the past couple of years, the rapper/singer has crossed over to acting by making appearances in the WWE wrestling scene and having a cameo in Fast & Furious 9. Other stars from the film, like Hiroyuki Sanada, an action veteran who's most known for playing Uijo in The Last Samurai, and Perks of Being a Wallflower's Logan Lerman, offer audiences a mixed cast with a couple of action films in their belt.

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Details about the other characters, including names and details, have yet to be revealed.

Release Date

The film was initially set to release this spring but was pushed to this summer. It will be released exclusively in theaters on July 15, 2022, in the US. International dates have yet to be announced.

Everything Else We Know

While further details about the plot and character names are still unknown, it is fair to note what we can expect from stuntman turned director David Leitch. Bullet Train already holds a lot of promise of being on par with his other critically praised films, including Atomic Blonde, John Wick, and Deadpool 2. Leitch is widely credited for redefining the genre with his colorfully action-filled scenes. His experience as a stuntman and skilled martial artist offers a fresh take on the assassin-thriller genre he's become known for. Working with Brad Pitt five times as his stunt double and winning two Screen Actor Guild Awards with his stunt crew in the past few years has accumulated quite a lot of praise for the director. It's fair to say that audiences will have high expectations once this film releases in July.