Representation matters over at Universal Pictures where the trailer for its new spy thriller The 355 features an all-female ensemble cast with various backgrounds. This includes Kenyan-Mexican Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o who stars as Khadijah, a former MI6 agent and computer specialist.
When a top-secret weapon falls into the wrong hands, Khadijah teams with other international allies to try to stop an enemy who can destroy the world from behind a keyboard. Along for the ride is two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds), Bingbing Fan (Iron Man 3) and Spanish Oscar winner Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), who plays Graciela, a Colombian psychologist.
In the trailer, Chastain’s character is told that if she wants to go after the bad guys, she’s going to have to do it without permission. She turns first to Khadijah, a British spy, who is describe as “the best in the world,” to help her bring down their “common enemy.”
“If we don’t stop them, they’ll start World War III,” Chastain’s character says.
In one scene in the trailer, Cruz’s Graciela is seen speaking to her children in Spanish back in Colombia. Later, she seems a bit in over her head when things start blowing up around her. “I am a normal person,” she says. “I cannot do this anymore.”
Also in the cast is Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramírez (Carlos) and Chilean-born Brit Francisco Labbe (The Hustle). With female secret agents packing heat and representing the countries of the United States, Britain, Germany, Colombia and China, we’re hoping the globetrotting adventure will be a fun one.
The 355 hits theaters January 15, 2021.