A24 has released the first full trailer for The Drama, offering the clearest look yet at one of the studio’s most closely watched releases of the year. Headlined by Robert Pattinson and Zendaya, the film is set for a theatrical release on April 3, positioning it as a major spring title for prestige-driven, star-led cinema.
Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, The Drama marks the filmmaker’s fourth feature following DRIB, Sick of Myself, and his breakout hit Dream Scenario. Borgli has steadily built a reputation as a director interested in discomfort—using heightened situations to examine ego, intimacy, and the stories people tell themselves. The new trailer suggests his latest film continues that trajectory, this time turning its gaze toward romantic partnership and emotional power dynamics.
Pattinson and Zendaya star as an engaged couple whose relationship begins to fracture in the lead-up to their wedding. While the trailer keeps specific plot developments deliberately opaque, it hints at an unexpected rupture that forces both characters to confront uncomfortable truths. The tone leans away from conventional romantic drama, instead emphasizing tension, ambiguity, and psychological unease—hallmarks of Borgli’s filmmaking style.
The pairing of Pattinson and Zendaya is central to the film’s appeal. Both actors have, in recent years, gravitated toward director-driven projects that challenge their public personas. In The Drama, Pattinson appears to inhabit a role defined by anxious introspection and volatility, while Zendaya’s character suggests emotional clarity layered with quiet resistance. Rather than positioning either as dominant, the trailer frames their relationship as a shifting battleground, with control and vulnerability constantly in flux.
The supporting cast includes Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, and Hailey Gates, adding further weight to the ensemble. Behind the scenes, the project also carries the creative imprint of Ari Aster, who serves as an executive producer through his Square Peg banner alongside Lars Knudsen, reinforcing the film’s positioning within A24’s auteur-friendly ecosystem.
Borgli’s ascent into the indie mainstream was cemented by Dream Scenario, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before becoming an unexpected theatrical success for A24. That film’s blend of surrealism and emotional unease broadened his audience, and The Drama appears to build on that momentum with a more intimate but no less unsettling premise. The trailer’s emphasis on mood over exposition suggests a film less concerned with answers than with emotional aftershocks.
The project has already generated significant curiosity within film circles, with industry watchers flagging it as one of the more intriguing original releases on the 2026 calendar. Much of that anticipation stems not only from its cast, but from the promise of adult-oriented storytelling in a theatrical landscape still dominated by franchises and spectacle.
As the April release date approaches, The Drama is shaping up to be a defining test of how far star power and auteur credibility can carry an original relationship film in today’s market. If the trailer is any indication, Borgli’s latest work aims to unsettle rather than reassure—using intimacy itself as the film’s central source of tension.
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