TRAILER: John Boyega Is Oscar-Worthy In The Final Trailer For Katheryn Bigelow’s ‘Detroit’

We know it’s too early to start predicting which movie or actor will get an Oscar nomination come January next year, but when you have a director as skilled as Katheryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and a lead actor as gifted as John Boyega (Half Of A Yellow Sun), it’s hard not to get ahead of ourselves.

Detroit, Bigelow’s first feature film since her Oscar-nominated Zero Dark Thirty, just got a gripping final trailer that pushed our already high expectations for its Oscar chances through the roof.

The true-story is set against the backdrop of the Detroit riots of 1967, which were initiated by a police raid of an unlicensed bar in the city’s Near West Side. The confrontations turned violent, resulting in the deaths of 39 people and leaving hundreds wounded as the riots lasted for five days.

The script, which was written by Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), seems to focus on one specific event that took place during the riots: a raid of a motel that blurred the lines between good cops and bad cops.

While the first trailer teased how John Boyega’s character will get involved, this new trailer delves into his story a bit more – and his performance already looks Oscar-worthy. Boyega plays a security guard who inadvertently gets caught in the middle of the frenzy.

The film’s impressive cast includes Will Poulter, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Jack Reynor, Ben O’Toole, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Samira Wiley, John Krasinski, Anthony Mackie and a bunch of others.

Detroit will be released on August 4, the 50th anniversary of the riots.