Brad Pitt Goes to War (Again) in First War Machine Trailer

Brad Pitt likes war movies. He likes starring in them (Inglourious Basterds, Allied, World War Z), he likes producing them (Fury), and we are willing to go ahead and bet that he likes watching them, too. So it’s only natural that while Angelina Jolie plans a return to high-profile acting following her and Pitt’s ugly split, Pitt does the same, only with a war movie, of course. All of which brings us to War Machine, the new absurdist war movie Pitt is starring in for Netflix.

The first trailer for War Machine dropped Wednesday, and it showcases Pitt with his smirking, impish charm turned all the way up. The movie (which is not a Don Cheadle Marvel spin-off) is a partial fictionalization of the late Michael Hasting’s nonfiction book The Operators: The Wild & Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan. It will follow the rise and fall of a four-star general who gets the chance to command NATO forces in Afghanistan but is eventually unraveled by a journalist’s clever exposé. The general, played by Pitt, is not-so-loosely inspired by Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

War Machine is billed as “an absurdist war story for our time,” an interesting sell, since while our times are certainly absurd, whether the time is right for people to enjoy that absurdity comically depicted onscreen is another question entirely.

Working to make the prospect more enticing is the packed cast that joins a silver-haired Pitt. Tilda Swinton, Sir Ben Kingsley, Anthony Michael Hall, Topher Grace, Will Poulter, Lakeith Stanfield, Emory Cohen, John Magaro, RJ Cyler, Alan Ruck, Scoot McNairy, and Meg Tilly are all on board for the movie, which is directed by Animal Kingdom‘s David Michôd. Pitt also produced War Machine through his Plan B, the same production company that just took home the Oscar for Moonlight.

War Machine will be readily accessible to you via Netflix come May 26.

Watch Brad Pitt Take W’s Screen Test: