‘Wild Horse Nine’ First Clip: John Malkovich & Sam Rockwell Get Themselves Into Trouble In Martin McDonagh’s Dark Comedy
Deadline has released an exclusive first clip from Martin McDonagh's crime-dramedy "Wild Horse Nine", ahead of its premiere next week at the Venice Film Festival. The film reunites McDonagh with several regular collaborators and marks his first feature since the Oscar-nominated "The Banshees of Inisherin", making it one of the more anticipated titles on the festival circuit and among awards watchers ahead of its cinema release.
The story is set just before the 1973 Chilean coup and follows CIA agents Chris and Lee, played by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, who are sent from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief MJ, played by Steve Buscemi. The plot is complicated by Chris's bond with two rebellious students, played by Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas, while the cast also includes Tom Waits and Parker Posey. Searchlight has scheduled the film for release on 6 November 2026, and it reunites McDonagh with Rockwell following their work together on the award-winning "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri".
- First clip from McDonagh's "Wild Horse Nine" released before Venice premiere
- Stars Malkovich and Rockwell as CIA agents near 1973 Chilean coup
- Searchlight release set for 6 November 2026
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Martin McDonagh is a filmmaker known for dark comedies and crime stories, including The Banshees of Inisherin and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. His new film is set in 1973, when Chile was on the brink of a military coup that would overthrow its government.
The story follows CIA agents Chris and Lee, sent from Santiago to Easter Island by their boss, MJ. The CIA is the United States’ foreign intelligence agency. On the island, Chris grows close to two students, bringing their lives into the agents’ assignment.
The film stars John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell as the agents, with Steve Buscemi as MJ; Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas play the students. Its setting links a personal story of divided loyalties to a period of political upheaval in Chile.
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