Brad Pitt and his combat dog confront a plane crash, sheer drops and a wolf attack in the new trailer for Heart of the Beast. Pitt stars as James Belmont, a former Army Special Forces officer whose attempt to give his longtime canine partner a peaceful retirement turns into another fight for survival.
The second trailer released by Paramount Pictures begins by establishing James and Odin’s history together during military service, showing the pair protecting one another before James takes the retired combat dog into the Alaskan wilderness. After everything they have survived, James tells Odin it is time for him to know peace.
That plan collapses when their seaplane crashes far from help. The new footage sends the pair across steep ravines and through freezing wilderness before putting them face-to-face with a wolf inside a cave. “No one’s coming for us,” James tells Odin. “We’re just gonna have to do this the hard way.”
Heart of the Beast reunites Pitt with Fury director David Ayer. J.K. Simmons and Anna Lambe also star in the survival thriller, which Paramount Pictures will release in theaters on Sept. 25.
The New Trailer Begins With James and Odin at War
The opening scenes establish that James and Odin were partners long before their flight over Alaska. Footage shows them together during military service, repeatedly protecting one another, followed by quieter moments as James tries to give the retired combat dog a life away from war.
According to Paramount’s official synopsis, a “harrowing plane crash” leaves James and Odin stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness and forces them into a fight for survival against the elements. The latest footage expands that ordeal. The trailer shows James and Odin navigating ravines, struggling through the landscape and confronting a wolf inside a cave with no obvious route back to civilization.
James continues talking to Odin throughout the journey as if he were another soldier beside him rather than simply a pet. “We can still do this,” he tells the dog. “We’ve been through worse.” Later, he frames their effort to survive as “one last mission” and promises, “We’re not gonna die out here.”
Cameron Alexander wrote the screenplay. Pitt, Ayer, Olivia Hamilton and Marty Bowen produced the film, with Damien Chazelle among its executive producers.
Odin Is Played Primarily by a Real Mountain Rescue Dog
A recent behind-the-scenes featurette puts Pitt’s canine co-star in the spotlight. “Odin is the star of the film,” Pitt says in the video, describing their onscreen partnership as central to the story. “It’s really beautiful in the film, how they work together and depend on each other.”
The principal dog playing Odin is named Uber, and unlike many animal performers, he already had real-world experience in demanding terrain before joining the production. Ayer told GQ that Uber belonged to a mountain-rescue first responder in New Zealand. The production also worked with Uber’s three sons, Seeka, Ryker and Hondo, using four related dogs to handle the demands of the role.
The preparation had to happen quickly. Ayer said productions would normally have around 20 weeks to train dogs for work of this kind, while his team had only 12. Uber’s previous experience became particularly obvious during a helicopter sequence.
“I’m sitting there like, ‘Huh, this is not my dog’s first time in a helicopter,'” Ayer recalled. The director noticed that Uber remained relaxed and comfortable inside the aircraft while some of the other dogs required more adjustment. The different dogs had different strengths. Ayer said some were better suited to running scenes, while the older Uber was not as fast but brought qualities that made him particularly effective as the primary Odin.
Pitt Wanted the Dog Above Him on the Call Sheet
Ayer said the relationship between James and Odin was so central to the film that Pitt did not want to be treated as its sole star. “Brad wanted to be No. 2 on the call sheet, and rightly so,” Ayer told GQ.
For the director, Cameron Alexander’s screenplay worked because James and Odin continually rescue each other. “It’s not like a guy and his pet, they felt like co-equals in this story,” Ayer said. He described the screenplay as a study of “grief,” “healing” and “the human heart” and said reading it made him cry.
The demanding location work added another layer to that partnership. Although the story takes place in Alaska, production filmed predominantly on New Zealand’s South Island, including remote glacier locations. Ayer said some sites were so difficult to reach that the crew had to arrive by helicopter and was restricted to only a few loads of equipment. For one sequence, Pitt and the dog were dropped on a ridge and filmed walking through the landscape.
Pitt also performed most of the movie’s physical work himself. “He was doing so much of this stuff himself, I think we doubled him for just a couple shots,” Ayer said, adding that the production took an “immense physical toll” on the actor.
David Ayer Has Already Revealed Whether Odin Survives
The trailers repeatedly place Odin in danger, but Ayer has already removed one major source of suspense for viewers who may be more worried about the dog than Pitt’s character. “The one spoiler I’ll forward right now is, don’t worry, the dog lives,” Ayer told GQ.
The director said he was conscious of how protective audiences become of animal characters and knew that viewers would quickly become invested in Odin’s fate. “I’ve shown the film to a few of my roughneck, tough-guy friends, and they’re crying at the end of this,” Ayer said. “I’ve never had a film move an audience so powerfully.”