Angelina Jolie takes center stage in the first trailer for Maria, her first movie in three years. Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria stars Jolie as real-life opera singer Maria Callas, chronicling the figure's final days in Paris in the 1970s. The film, which was written by Steven Knight, recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Maria marks Jolie's first movie since appearing as Thena in Eternals (2021).

Now, Netflix releases the first trailer for Maria, providing a new look at Jolie as the iconic singer. The trailer reveals Larraín's old-school approach to capturing the figure's life, including different film stocks, seemingly for the different periods of Callas' life. Some of the film's ing cast are also briefly shown off in the trailer, including Haluk Bilginer, Piersco Favino, and Alba Rohrwacher. Though the trailer doesn't include a firm release date, it does tease that the film is "coming soon" to movie theaters. Check out the trailer below:

What Angelina Jolie's Acting Return Means For Maria

How Maria Has Been Received So Far

Jolie is obviously now being more selective regarding what roles she takes on, giving more weight to the projects she does appear in. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Jolie explained why she took such a long break from acting, saying simply: "I needed to be home more with my kids.” That Maria was a project she couldn't up speaks to the film's importance to her and Larraín's stature as a filmmaker, and the trailer certainly looks to be painting a serious and thoughtful portrayal of Callas' life.

Larraín's previous projects include El Conde (2024), Spencer (2021), and Ema (2019).

Though general audiences haven't yet gotten a chance to see Maria, the film's reception out of its Venice premiere does provide some idea of how Jolie's collaboration with Larraín has turned out. The film currently enjoys a positive 75% on Jolie's lead performance.

Our Take On The Maria Trailer

Will Maria Be Another Maestro?

At first glance, Maria seems to have a lot in common with Bradley Cooper's Maestro (2023), in which he played composer Leonard Bernstein. Maestro used different film stocks for the different periods of Bernstein's life, with Cooper himself really transforming for the project. Despite being nominated for seven Oscars, however, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Maestro walked away empty-handed.

It's not clear if Maria will suffer the same fate, but the critical response thus far has been about the same, with Maestro, for example, sporting a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. Though positive, it's clear that both movies have elements that are holding them back from widespread acclaim. At the very least, though, it will be exciting to see Jolie back acting on the big screen again, and Maria certainly looks to feature a powerful lead performance from her.

Source: Netflix