Director Gore Verbinski has racked up an impressive filmography over the years, from The Ring and the first three installments of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to the 2011 Oscar-nominated animated western Rango. Granted, he’s had his share of failures (*cough* The Lone Ranger *cough*), but if this trailer is any indication, Verbinski has another winner on his hands with the absurdist sci-fi dark comedy Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.
Sam Rockwell stars as the otherwise unnamed “Man from the Future,” who shows up at a Los Angeles diner looking like a homeless person but claiming to be a time traveler from an apocalyptic future. He’s there to recruit the locals into his war against a rogue AI, although the diner patrons are understandably dubious about his sanity. (“I come from a nightmare apocalypse,” he assures the crowd about his grubby appearance. “This is the height of f*@ing fashion!”) Somehow, he convinces a handful of Angelenos to join his crusade, and judging by the remaining footage, all kinds of chaos breaks out.
In addition to the eminently watchable Rockwell, the cast includes Haley Lu Richardson as Ingrid, Michael Pena as Mark, Zazie Beetz as Janet, and Juno Temple as Susan. Dino Fetscher, Anna Acton, Asim Chaudhury, Daniel Barnett, and Domonique Maher also appear in as-yet-undisclosed roles. Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying, Love and Monsters) penned the script. This is Verbinski’s first indie film, and Tom Ortenberg, CEO of distributor Briarcliff Entertainment, praised it as “wildly original, endlessly entertaining, and unlike anything audiences have seen before.” Color us intrigued.
Good Luck, Don’t Die, Have Fun hits theaters on February 13, 2026.