The first trailer for Danny Boyle’s upcoming film Ink has arrived, giving audiences a fast-paced look at how Rupert Murdoch turned a struggling newspaper into a tabloid empire. The biographical drama follows the 1969 takeover of the British newspaper The Sun and the partnership between Murdoch and editor Larry Lamb that changed journalism forever.
The trailer dropped on September 2, 2026, the same day the film opened the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. It shows the chaotic energy Boyle is known for, with quick cuts, loud conversations, and a newsroom full of people trying to figure out what readers actually want.
The Cast Bringing This Story to Life
Jack O’Connell plays Larry Lamb, the editor Murdoch brought in to run The Sun. Guy Pearce takes on the role of Rupert Murdoch, the Australian businessman who bought the failing paper. Claire Foy plays Jules Davies, a fictional reporter who represents the women who worked on Fleet Street during that time.
The film also features Blake Harrison, Angus Imrie, Patrick Kennedy, and Lucy Russell in supporting roles.
Boyle told reporters at the Venice Film Festival that he did not want to make Murdoch into a one-dimensional villain. “We didn’t want to monsterise Rupert Murdoch, which of course a lot of people do now,” he said.
“He represented at the time a breath of fresh air in what was a very rigid British society, and he was dealing with a lot of prejudice against him as an Australian.”
The director added that Murdoch “had a loathing for the British establishment, which I personally share as well”. Boyle wanted the audience to feel part of the story, saying, “It was important to us that the audience felt complicit in this story, and the journey then takes you into the darkness”.
What the Trailer Shows About The Sun’s Transformation
Set in London in 1969, Ink shows Murdoch recruiting Lamb to relaunch The Sun and compete with the hugely successful Daily Mirror. The trailer reveals how the team brainstormed ideas to grab readers’ attention. Lamb asks his reporters: “What do you really want? What gets you going? What floats your boat?”
The answers come quickly: smoking, drinking, television, violence, and sex. Murdoch adds: “Larry, Great Britain is crying out for something here — something dangerous, something fun!”
The trailer shows the newspaper moving away from hard news and politics toward stories about sports, television gossip, crime, and scandals. Lamb tells his team: “We want stories, gossip. Any scandal is fair game. Just make it loud!”
The film also touches on the beginnings of what we now call clickbait. Lamb explains: “Once you know why something’s happened, the story’s over. It’s dead”.
But the trailer also hints at the consequences. Foy’s character Jules Davies points out: “Just because you can make something public, doesn’t mean you should”. This suggests the film will show the personal and legal troubles that came with the paper’s aggressive approach.
Based on an Award-Winning Play
The movie comes from James Graham’s 2017 stage play of the same name. Graham also wrote the screenplay. The play won Tony and Olivier awards, and Graham said he enjoys telling origin stories.
“I really like origin stories – going back to the first principles of anything.”
The film is Boyle’s second project after his 2025 film 28 Years Later. He previously directed Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, and Steve Jobs.
World Premiere at Venice Film Festival
Ink opened the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2026. The film received a five-minute standing ovation after its screening.
Guy Pearce revealed that Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth told him her father was happy about the casting. “Dad is very happy that you are playing him,” Pearce said she told him. But he added, “He hadn’t seen the film at that point… so we will see”.
James Graham said Murdoch had seen the stage play twice, once in the West End and once on Broadway. Graham noted that Murdoch was “charmed” by a sequence showing the hot metal press and the “dirt, steam and filth” that went into making a newspaper.
Claire Foy said she found stepping into the world of 1960s tabloid journalism “really intoxicating” and admitted feeling “quite jealous” of Fleet Street reporters.
“They had power at their fingertips. They knew what they wrote would be what people read and what people believed.”
When and Where to Watch Ink
Ink will arrive in select US theaters on December 11, 2026. The film will then stream on Netflix starting January 8, 2027 in the US and Latin America.
In the UK and Ireland, the film will release in cinemas on January 8, 2027. Studiocanal will handle the theatrical release in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia, and New Zealand.
The film will also screen at the London Film Festival starting October 12, 2026.
You May Also Like:
Fans React to the Trailer
Viewers have already started comparing Ink to other high-energy films about ambition and power. Some fans called it “The Wolf of Fleet Street” in reference to Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.
The comparison makes sense. Both stories follow people who break rules to reach the top, with consequences that catch up with them. The trailer’s fast pace and chaotic energy also remind many of Boyle’s earlier work like Trainspotting.
One fan commented that the film shows “the origin of clickbait and sensationalized news”. Another noted how the trailer makes you feel the excitement of the newsroom while also showing the darker side of what they were doing.
The film’s tagline, “They broke the news,” carries a double meaning — both breaking stories and breaking the rules of journalism.
Thanks for reading this article on VvipTimes. We bring you the latest updates from the world of entertainment, movies, and pop culture — all in simple English so you stay informed without the confusion.
Leave a Reply