With the country in a constant state of protest, now might be the perfect time for Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7. And Netflix is taking advantage of the moment, dropping a full trailer for the star-studded historical drama about the group who led an anti-war rally during the 1968 Democratic National Convention and were charged with conspiracy for their activism.
Sorkin’s sophomore effort behind the camera stars Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden, Yahya Abdul Mateen II as Black Panther Party leader Bobby Seale, Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin, and most notably Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman. Also in the cast are Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch, Mark Rylance, Alex Sharp, Noah Robbins, Danny Flaherty, Ben Shenkman, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Caitlin Fitzgerald, Alice Kremelberg, John Doman, J.C. MacKenzie, Damien Young, Wayne Duvall and C.J. Wilson.
The film has been in the works for over a decade, with Steven Spielberg and Paul Greengrass eyeing the director’s chair. Sorkin eventually took over, and will direct from his own screenplay. He made his directorial debut with 2017’s Molly’s Game, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 opens in theaters this month and hits Netflix on October 16th.
SYNOPSIS: What was intended to be a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest—including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale—were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot and the trial that followed was one of the most notorious in history.
