A24 has released the official trailer for Mother Mary, a dark, artsy, genre-blurring drama starring Anne Hathaway as a troubled pop icon on the brink of bankruptcy. Directed by David Lowery, whose eclectic filmography includes Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Pete’s Dragon, Ghost Stories, The Old Man and the Gun, and The Green Knight, the film looks like another singular foray into obsession, performance, and fractured identity. Watch the trailer above and read more.
Pop superstar on the brink
The trailer shows Hathaway playing Mary, a global sensation who falls off the world tour that made her famous and finds herself in a spiral from which she can no longer escape. Seeking shelter, or maybe a showdown, she shows up at Sam’s (Michaela Coel) house. Sam is the designer and creative partner who helped Mary develop the very persona she’s currently stifling. Their reunion is eventful and intimate, burdened with a history only hinted at in the trailer, suggesting a story built on both creative dedication and deep emotional scars.
The footage also points to strange forces at work, including messy rituals, disturbing images, and hints that something inside Mary’s mind is beginning to surface. “Do you think there’s something in you?” Sam asks her. “Let’s get rid of her. Together.” By the time things get dark, Sam can only admit, “I don’t like this.”
Visually, Lowery has returned to the realm of dreamlike frenzy, with bleak stage images and ritualistic choreography. The trailer also incorporates musical elements, including stage numbers and introducing the sonic world created by Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX. The marketing claims this is not a ghost story or a love story. It’s almost a prayer, operating in its own strange register.
Hathaway and Cole talk about change and creativity
As part of her Vogue cover story, Hathaway described playing Mary as an all-in, not just a turn-on performance. “You can’t ‘play’ the Virgin Mary,” she said. “Once I get the role, I have to be the material that David can work with.” Preparing to embody the world-famous musician meant stripping it all down and embracing discomfort. “I had to accept that I was a beginner,” she explained. “That humility is showing up every day knowing you’re going to be your worst. And that has to be okay. You’re not ‘bad.’ You are just a beginner. ”
Coel, who plays Sam, sees their character dynamic as more than just a creative partnership. She calls it a “creative connection that is also a spiritual connection, or perhaps they are the same thing,” and the film expresses the tension throughout their shared history.
Director David Lowery recalled a particularly intense shoot when Hathaway warned him, “‘I think what’s coming out of me is going to hurt you,'” near the end of filming. And Michaela took her hand and said, “I love you, and I trust you.” ”
Hathaway also talked about how the film’s music came around her, rather than something that could have been blueprinted months ago. “I had to learn…because if I had had music a year before we turned on the cameras, I would have imprinted all those sounds into my soul. And there would have been a whole process that was very specific, and that wasn’t available to me. Ultimately, I’m so grateful that I didn’t have control,” she said.
A24 Cast and Creative Team
The ensemble surrounding Mary and Sam includes Hunter Schaefer, Ashina Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Alba Baptista, Isaura Barbe-Brown, Sian Clifford, and FKA Twigs. Lowery co-wrote the screenplay with Ann Berest and Gael Masset, creating a film that combines psychological drama, creative competition, and musical expression.
release date
Mother Mary will arrive in U.S. theaters in April 2026.
A24
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