New Trailer: ‘Annihilation,’ Starring Natalie Portman release on Feb. 23 2018

Back in September, Paramount released a teaser for its sci-fi drama “Annihilation” that focused on Natalie Portman’s character, a biologist, leading an all-female team into a jungle populated with dangerous otherworldly creatures. Now a new trailer emphasizes the story’s emotional underpinning.
There’s an extended scene of Ms. Portman’s character in bed with her husband, played by Oscar Isaac. He precedes her on an expedition into this shadowy realm and returns with a devastating illness; she hopes to find the cure by going on her own mission.

The second trailer’s more emotional tone may reflect a behind-the-scenes conflict over the film’s commercial prospects. The Hollywood Reporter recently published an article claiming there was a clash between two executive producers of the film, Scott Rudin and David Ellison, over Ms. Portman’s character and the original vision of Alex Garland, who wrote and directed the 2014 sci-fi sleeper “Ex Machina.” For “Annihilation, Mr. Garland adapted Jeff VanderMeer’s novel of the same title.

The trailer is being released as news comes that some of the international rights to the film were sold to Netflix, which will start streaming it less than three weeks after it reaches theaters. In an interview with Collider posted on Wednesday, Mr. Garland said his reaction to the news was “disappointment really. We made the film for cinema.”

The film is set for a North American theatrical release on Feb. 23. (New York Times)