Idris Elba is a Brutal Warlord in the Trailer for Beasts of No Nation

Posted on September 5, 2015

Cary Fukunga, who directed all of the acclaimed first season of True Detective has written and directed a feature film for Netflix which will also be available in theaters on the same day. The film is called Beasts of No Nation and it already has some serious buzz. Idris Elba is a brutal African warlord who callously murders those in his path and conscripts children into his child army.

The movie is based on the novel by sociologist and physician Uzodinma Iweala. Iweala lives in Washington, DC and is from Nigeria. His novel is the basis of his thesis at Harvard University. In the novel, the country is not named. As in the novel, the film does not specify where it takes place. Idris' character is called Commandant. The child army phenomenon has made headlines in a number of African countries such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Sudan.

When a civil war erupts in a West African country a young boy named Agu (Abraham Attah) is forced to join the mercenary group headed by the Commandant. He is trained and indoctrinated and eventually becomes a ruthless child soldier.

Because Netflix insists on screening the film the same day it hits theaters, most of the national chains have refused to carry the film. But it will be available in independent theaters on October 16, 2015. The trailer is quite impressive and Idris may be looking at an Oscar nomination. Take a look:

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