WATCH: First Trailer For Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne and More

Netflix

Netflix has released the first trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s highly-anticipated political drama The Trial of the Chicago 7. The film tells the story of the riots at the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention and the contentious trial that followed. The all-star cast includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeremy Strong, Frank Langella and Michael Keaton.

“What was intended to be a peaceful protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned into a violent clash with police and the National Guard,” reads Netflix’s official plot description. “The organizers of the protest — including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale — were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot and the trial that followed was one of the most notorious in history.”

The Trial of the Chicago 7 had a long journey before finally getting made. Sorkin wrote a first draft of the screenplay back in 2007, at which point Steven Spielberg was planning to direct. Spielberg eventually dropped out and a number of other directors circled the project, but financing became an issue.

The film was revived in 2018 following the 2016 election of Donald Trump and the 2017 release of Sorkin’s hit directorial debut, Molly’s Game. After completing production, the movie hit one more roadblock as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Paramount Pictures was planning to release the film theatrically, but with the uncertain state of the theater business, the studio sold the film to Netflix so it could be released prior to the upcoming election.

Watch the trailer below for The Trial of the Chicago 7, which is already receiving early Oscar buzz. The movie debuts Oct. 16 on Netflix.