Chris Evans Is Taken Hostage by a Volcanic Doomsday Cult in Netflix’s First Sacrifice Trailer
Chris Evans goes from struggling movie star to human sacrifice in Sacrifice, Romain Gavras’ strange and darkly comic new film for Netflix. The first trailer has arrived, offering a much clearer look at the movie’s bizarre premise, star-studded cast, and collision of celebrity satire, action, comedy, and apocalyptic mythology.
Netflix will release Sacrifice on October 16, 2026.
The film comes from French director Romain Gavras, best known for Athena, and marks his English-language directorial debut. Sacrifice first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025 before Netflix acquired the film in May 2026. After spending nearly a year making its way through the festival and distribution circuit, the movie is now preparing for its wider streaming debut.
The new trailer introduces a story that begins with a glamorous charity gala and quickly spirals into something far more dangerous.
First trailer for ‘SACRIFICE’, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Evans.
The film follows a failing movie star who tries to get back into the spotlight at a charity gala but is soon kidnapped by radical warriors.
Releasing October 16 on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/Rcqk22Ihfj
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 16, 2026
Chris Evans’ movie star is desperate for a comeback
Evans plays Mike Tyler, a down-on-his-luck action star whose career has taken a serious hit. Desperate to rebuild his public image, Mike arrives at an exclusive environmental charity event packed with celebrities and wealthy socialites.
The gala is hosted by billionaire Ben Bracken, played by Vincent Cassel, and his wife Gloria, played by Salma Hayek-Pinault. The event is designed to showcase the polished world of celebrity philanthropy, but the trailer immediately gives the occasion an uncomfortable comedic edge.
Mike, eager to make the right impression, appears increasingly aware of how badly he fits into this world. Even his arrival becomes a source of embarrassment when he panics over showing up in a gasoline-powered car.
The joke sets up one of the film’s central targets: the contradiction between public displays of environmental concern and the lifestyles of the wealthy people gathered to promote it.
Netflix describes Mike as an action star searching for a comeback at a star-studded environmental event, where celebrities and billionaires gather for what initially appears to be a conventional high-profile fundraiser.
Then Joan arrives.
Poster for Romain Gavras’ ‘Sacrifice’ starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Evans, Salma Hayek and more.
It releases October 16 on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/a4gPC46NHO
— best of anya taylor-joy (@anyafolders) September 16, 2026
Anya Taylor-Joy turns the gala into a hostage situation
Anya Taylor-Joy plays Joan, a radical leader who storms the event with her followers.
What begins as an extravagant evening quickly becomes a hostage crisis. Mike is among those captured as Joan and her group attempt to carry out a ritual they believe is necessary to prevent an impending catastrophe.
Their belief centers on a prophecy. According to Netflix’s official description, the group believes an extinction-level event will occur in three days unless three people are sacrificed to a nearby volcano.
That puts Mike in an especially unfortunate position. The actor who came to the gala hoping to repair his career suddenly finds himself playing the most important role of his life, whether he wants it or not.
The premise gives Sacrifice a deliberately strange mixture of comedy and danger. The movie begins by mocking celebrity culture and elite philanthropy, then transforms into a race against time involving a radical group, a prophecy, and a volcano.
The result is a story in which the boundary between performance and genuine belief becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish.
A satire about celebrity culture, wealth and belief
Gavras co-wrote the screenplay with Will Arbery, who is best known for his work on HBO’s Succession. Their story takes aim at the public performance surrounding wealth, celebrity, charity, and activism while also exploring more serious ideas involving faith, identity, salvation, and sacrifice.
Gavras has described the movie as being heavily influenced by mythology. His approach is to heighten everything: the violence, humor, stakes, and characters.
The film is not based on one specific myth or existing story. Instead, Gavras and Arbery drew from a mixture of Greek mythology and other stories, including French tales surrounding Joan of Arc. Gavras has also jokingly compared the basic journey to The Lord of the Rings, since both stories involve characters attempting to take something powerful to a volcano.
That mythological influence helps explain why the film’s premise becomes increasingly extravagant as the story progresses.
A surprisingly eclectic ensemble
Evans and Taylor-Joy lead a cast that mixes major film stars with performers from television and music.
The ensemble includes Vincent Cassel as Ben Bracken, Salma Hayek-Pinault as Gloria Bracken, John Malkovich as Gunnar, Sam Richardson as Oliver, Ambika Mod, Jade Croot, Miriam Silverman, Yung Lean as Arthur, and Charli XCX.
The inclusion of Yung Lean and Charli XCX is particularly in keeping with Gavras’ background as a music-video director. His previous work includes videos for major artists, and he has long maintained connections within the music world.
According to Gavras, Yung Lean was actually the first person cast in the film. Charli XCX subsequently joined the project in a smaller role.
Gavras also specifically chose Evans and Taylor-Joy because of the qualities they could bring to the heightened nature of the story. He has praised Evans’ comedic timing and his ability to understand the relationship between an actor and his own public image. Taylor-Joy, meanwhile, was chosen for the unusual combination of strength, vulnerability, and otherworldly presence she could bring to Joan.
The film was shot on location in Greece, Bulgaria and Iceland
The striking landscapes seen throughout Sacrifice are another major part of the film’s identity.
The production filmed entirely on location in Greece, Bulgaria, and Iceland. Gavras has described the challenges of staging the movie’s elaborate sequences in real locations, including bringing around 200 extras dressed for a gala to a mine in Northern Greece.
The production also filmed around an active volcano. Gavras recalled that cast and crew had to make a roughly hour-long climb each morning, with equipment transported by donkeys.
Those real-world locations give the movie a visual scale that would be difficult to replicate entirely on a soundstage. The contrast between glamorous celebrity gatherings and harsh volcanic landscapes also fits the film’s deliberately extreme shift in tone.
From festival curiosity to Netflix release
Sacrifice first premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where it introduced audiences to Gavras’ unusual combination of action, satire, mythology, and comedy. Netflix acquired the U.S. rights in May 2026, bringing the film to the streaming service later that year.
The finished movie runs for roughly 1 hour and 40 minutes and carries an R rating. Netflix categorizes it across comedy, thriller, drama, and dark comedy, reflecting just how difficult the film is to place neatly within a single genre.
Its official premise is simple enough: a struggling movie star attends a glamorous Greek island charity gala, only to become the hostage of a volcanic doomsday cult.
The trailer makes clear that the reality is considerably more chaotic.
Mike came to the gala looking for a second chance. Instead, he finds himself caught in Joan’s apocalyptic plan, surrounded by people who genuinely believe that sacrificing three lives can save the planet.
With Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Vincent Cassel, Salma Hayek-Pinault, John Malkovich, Charli XCX, Yung Lean and the rest of its unusual ensemble, Sacrifice is shaping up as one of Netflix’s more unconventional fall releases.
The film premieres on Netflix on October 16, 2026.