Earlier this spring, Lionsgate bumped Janelle Monáe’s upcoming horror/suspense thriller Antebellum to August from its April release date, like many other films this spring. Now, the studio has pulled the film from its theatrical release entirely, opting instead to release the film directly to consumers on demand on September 18th.
Along with the announcement, we got a new trailer for the project, which shows off more of what to expect.
Like in the prior two trailers, we see author Veronica Henley (Monáe) get snatched from her present day life to a period-looking slave plantation, complete with Confederate soldiers. This new trailer shows off a bit more: It looks as though Veronica has been kidnapped by a shadowy group—the tagline says that if you’re “chosen”, there’s no escape—for whatever horrifying reality she finds herself in. Pulled away from her life into a brutal past, she has to find a way to escape.
What that reality is, however, could be a couple of things—she could have been transported back in time, or been subjected to a horrifying experiment (Westworld, but for racists?), or perhaps something else?
We’ll find out on September 18th, when the film debuts on VOD platforms.
