WATCH: Robert Downey Jr plays four characters in new HBO spy thriller series

Stephen Porzio

It will be one of Downey Jr’s first major projects since Avengers: Endgame.

The first trailer has premiered online for The Sympathizer, a new HBO spy series in which Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr plays four characters.

Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the show is described as an “espionage thriller and cross-culture satire”. It will focus on the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy (Hoa Xuande, Cowboy Bebop) during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.

As well as Xuande, Downey Jr will star in the project and is said to be playing several supporting antagonist roles, all of which are meant to represent a different part of the American establishment.

The series was developed by Canadian writer Don McKellar (Last Night) and legendary South Korean director Park Chan-wook (Decision to Leave, Oldboy, The Handmaiden). Park will also direct three of the show’s seven episodes, while Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) and Marc Munden (The Third Day, Utopia) will helm the rest.

Alongside Downey Jr and Xuande, the show’s cast includes Killing Eve’s Sandra Oh, as well as Alan Trong, Fred Nguyen Khan, Ky Duyen, Toan Le and Vy Le.

The Sympathizer will be released sometime in 2024. You can check out the trailer for the show – released to mark HBO Max’s new revamp to just being called Max – right here:

Earlier in the week, JOE covered the teasers for The Batman spin-off series The Penguin, the John Wick prequel series The Continental and the buzzy upcoming horror movie Talk to Me in separate articles.

Meanwhile, for more of the big trailer releases in the world of film and TV this week, see below.

Fool’s Paradise

Starting with movies, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day makes his directorial debut with this Chaplin-esque comedy in which he plays two roles.

It does not have an Irish release date yet but will be out in the US on 12 May.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter

This new Dracula adaptation features Irish actors Aisling Franciosi and Liam Cunningham and will be out in cinemas on 11 August.

The Marvels

Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) team up in this Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero flick out in cinemas on 10 November.

The Mother

After years of hiding out in the Alaskan wilderness, a deadly assassin (Jennifer Lopez) returns to rescue the daughter she loved from afar in this Netflix movie out on 12 May.

Sanctuary

This acclaimed dark comedy thriller follows a dominatrix (Margaret Qualley) and her wealthy client (Christopher Abbott), and the disaster that ensues when the latter tries to end their relationship.

Sanctuary does not have an Irish release date yet but will be out in the US on 19 May.

Class of ’09

Moving onto TV, this spy series centres on two FBI agents (Brian Tyree Henry and Kate Mara) who graduated from Quantico together in 2009 and who find themselves reunited following the death of a mutual friend.

Class of ’09 will premiere in Ireland on Disney+ sometime after its US debut on 10 May.

The Regime

Set for release next year, Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown) stars in this new series from Succession and The Menu writer Will Tracy about a year within the palace of a crumbling authoritarian regime.

Saint X

This new drama thriller series revolves around a young woman’s mysterious death while on vacation and how it creates a traumatic ripple effect that ultimately pulls her surviving sister (Alycia Debnam-Carey) into a dangerous pursuit of the truth.

Saint X will premiere in Ireland on Disney+ on 7 June.

True Detective: Night Country

Hit anthology crime drama series True Detective returns for a fourth season with an Alaskan-set mystery and Jodie Foster. It will premiere later in the year.