Trailer out, blew up on social media. Unique premise + comeback star vehicle for former star is potent combo for attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJiPAJKjUVg

The trailer was great. I hope M Night gets a hit.

This appears to be extremely dependent on Hartnett's ability to carry the film, as he carries the trailer. Will be very interesting to say the least.

When was Hartnett ever a box office draw that could carry a film?
If the film opens well it will be because of the premise and marketing.

I can see this opening well because of the tik tok crowd.

Hartnett occupies a very weird space where, at one point in time, he was extremely famous, probably the most famous under 30 actor at one point, but it’s hard to know how many real fans he had outside of his teen girl audience that was more inline to a popstar. Compared to recent comeback king Brendan Frazier, Hartnet was absolutely more famous than Brendan at one point, though Brendan probably had more legitimate fans.

It’s the type of angle that can amplify media coverage of a project.

No way this does worse than Knock at the Cabin

No way was he ever bigger than Frazier or the most famous of his age range, Leo is the king of that era and even Paul Walker was bigger than him, he is doing good now because he is getting good supporting roles in good movies as supposed bigger roles in big flops, he did get a big push at one time but it didnt work out for him.

Bruh you're forgetting the hype around him in 2002 and 2003. Josh Hartnett was first choice for Nolans Batman and they offered $100m for Superman. Nobody else was offered that contract Heath Ledger was the only other actor in Hartnett's zip code, the rest were names but were a step down. Paul Walker never had anything resembling the run that Hartnett had post Pearl Harbor where he was on the cover of Vanity Fair etc. Box office mojo forums were convicted he was next Brad Pitt in early 2002 when 40 nights was much bigger and better than it had any right to be.



I should have said "under 25". I consider Leo to closer to the mid/late 1990s breakouts ala Affleck and Damon. But remember that Leo disappeared 1998 through Christmas 2002 aside from one flop (The Beach).



Circa 2001-2003? You're really misremembering now. Paul Walker was the much more affordable runner up for Superman for a reason. For early 200s under 25 actors, Ledger is only namer who should be mentioned alongside Hartnett. Jake Gyllenhaal really emerged a few years afterwards.

Pearl harbor was a flop and Affleck was the main attraction in that one, then came Hollywood Homicide and that flop hard and that was the end for his push as the next big thing, he never became big, at that time in 2003 Paul walker surpassed him in popularity.

Like i said, he was pushed but it never clicked.

Josh Hartnett was like a less successful Jude Law, shoved in people's face to hell and back but the public never cared much, he was never a draw, never a true superstar the way Leo or Ben Affleck were/are.

This will move will sell because of the premise and Shyamalan not Hartnett.

Harbor adjusts to over $1b box office bruh. Hartnett headlined Black Hawk Down afterwards btw. Like I said, he is in a unique position. His name and face were promoted like a pop star more than an actor. A quick google of articles and reviews circa 2002 note this. His peak was decisively bigger than his other contemporaries ala Ryan Phillippe or Freddie Prinze Jr. Unlike them, it seems Hartnett has zero social media presence so its added a bit more curiosity to him.



Saw this elsewhere, Josh Hartnett 2001-2003 felt very much like Shawn Mendez circa 2017-2019. Mendes really jumped in popularity and people briefly were like "Has he surpassed Bieber?!" but then it seemed to go away overnight. That is exactly how Josh Hartnett feels in comparison to the Leo's and Afflecks. The closet other comp I can think of is that Rob Pattinson became Hartnett on steroids circa 2008.

Do some quick research. Hartnett was handed picked by DAVID FINCHER in 2002 to headline The Black Dhalia. He was the first choice & signed for what became Jake Gyllenhalls role in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. He was Nolan's first choice for Batman. WB offered him an insane contract for Superman. He was in a very unique spot for a few years where he had a teen girl base akin to Justin Timberlake but yet had serious commercial directors offering him prestige roles.

His starring return definitely added a PR element to this film and its evidence by that fact that he was a top 10 twitter trend on Thursday when the trailer dropped.

Your delusional romanticizing of Josh Hartnett's career is one of the most odd recurring tangents ever on this forum, and yes I remember the bom forums, you were literally the only person that was excited about him then. I don't know where to even start to rip that apart. He was a terrible actor then, and slightly better now.

For starters that 100 million deal was the deal on the table for everyone. Hartnett is simply the only one that turned it down. He never even auditioned for Batman, He lost brokeback mountain because of the conflicts with Black Dahlia, which he wasn't hand picked for as well. Many actors were attached at times, but Hartnett was cast while Fincher was involed (Certainly not handpicked, it was a trainwreck production for years)

Hartnett costarred in two ensemble war movies (Affleck was more famous and black hawk down had everyone in it) had a minor successful sex comedy, two mildly successful horror movies he also wasn't the lead, and then flopped in everything else since. I'd even say Ashton Kutcher had a more successful acting career overall.

And he's never touched fraser, and comeback king? Trapped looks fantastic and can do split numbers, but you could have literally had any actor in it (Hell it'd be perfect for fraser) but do we seriously forget RDJ who was in prison 6 years before Iron Man. Hartnett made bad decisions for years, didn't strike when the iron was hot, and rightfully faded out.

That being said, the movie looks pretty cool and good on him. But this movie has nothing to do with him. Actors at that time that were more successful at the same age outside of teenage girl magazines: And that photo of his screen test as superman is horrible, might even be worse than the Nic Cage one.

Christian Bale
Leonardo Dicaprio
Ashton Kutcher
Tobey McGuire
Jake Gyllenhaul
Ewen McGreggor
Mark Wahlfberg
Adrian Brody
Ben Affleck
Matt Damon
Sean William Scott
Reese Witherspoon
Edward Norton
Matthew McConaughey
Elijah Wood
Orlando Bloom

And dare I say Colin Farrell who I hated during that time period.

For the record, the most liked comment on the WB channel for the Trap trailer:

"Nice to see Josh Harnett making his comeback after all these years!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJiPAJKjUVg



There is no romanticizing of anyone's career. There is no exaggeration on my side, though there is a lot of downplaying from some of you. I never said he became Will Smith. I have said 5 time that he is in a very unique position. By 2003, he was clearly ahead of the Ryan Phillippe's and Wes Bentleys and Heath Ledgers, but he never went past it. He was first in line to receive large offers on highly commercial projects from prestige directors. This stuff isn't arguable.

By 2003, there were 10-12 serious "under 25ish actors" with chance to become the next true A list. In 100m dash, Ledger was winning 20 meters in, Hartnett opened a significant lead by 50 meters, but then finishes in near last place.

It is an interesting and unique career arc. That is all I have ever said about it. Collin Farrell is in a bit of a similar boat.



This is categorically false. This has been noted repeatedly over the years, most recently by Brett Ratner himself who confirmed Hartnett was his first choice. Superman vs. Hollywood 2008 confirms it, Hartnett is the only one who received the huge deal.



This is the definition of downplaying. He passed on the chance to "audition". There would not have been much of an audition process if he wanted the role. He was the studio and Nolan's primary choice, role was his if he wanted it, the first person they reached out to. Casting director confirmed it over the summer.

https://www.backstage.com/magazine/arti ... era-76838/

"Josh did not ink “Batman Begins” after having met [with Nolan]; he passed on it. And usually that’s not a [situation] where we go back—it’s one and done in Chris’ world"



And? He was the original lead for Brokeback Mountain. That is a simple fact.



It was a David Fincher film. Bucky is the lead role. It was given to Josh Hartnett.



Of course Kutcher had a more successful career in the long run.

My point is that Kutcher, and many others, were never at the point where Hartnett was in 2003. A door was opened for Hartnett to take the step into true A list. This door was not opened for any others at the time, it arguably opened for Jake Gyllenhaal years and years later.

Had Hartnett said yes to Batman, his 2005 would have been the instant classic Batman Begins in summer and the critical darling Brokeback Mountain winter. He 100% would be certified A list coming off of that combo.



A bunch of those names are clearly not from his group.

"Young" Hollywood of 2002 was Josh Hartnett, Heath Ledgers, Freddie Prinze Jr, Paul Walker, Ryan Phillippe, Wes Bentley, Hayden Christensen, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ashton Kutcher, Chris Klein, Sean William Scott, Billy Cudrup, Orlando Bloom, Christian Bale, Collin Farrel, etc.

From your list, Leo, Wahlberg, Damon etc had been playing adults since the mid 1990s.

By 2003, Heath Leder and Josh Hartnett were by far the most prominent individuals who were seen as candidates for serious prestige film roles, Bale and Gyllenhaal were next in line by decidedly behind them. Zero doubt that if Hartnett or Ledger wanted to be Nolan's Batman, the role was theirs over Bale. Christensen, Walker, and Bloom had franchise roles which pushed them forward collectively. Kutcher and William Scott were funny.

my 2003 fantasy of merging the 2

BIG $$$$$

Brokeback mountain was originally for Michael Douglas in the 90s, it was a project like The Bodyguard that took decades to be made and went through many different incarnations.

And LOL at your comparison, what the fuck was Hartnett in BHD, Pearl Harbor? An adult 40 Days, he ran a internet company or some shit like that. Leo played more of a kid in Catch Me if you Can that Hartnett ever did at the same time. Your confusing people that had a much stronger, longer body of work with a fresh faced teen sensation that was more like Vinnie Chase in Entourage, except he never got a role to advance his career.

And you're are absolutely romanticizing it because your entire argument is based on "What if" scenarios, he wouldn't have been able to do both Brokeback and Batman Returns and Superman Flyboy, lol, why not give him the travis kelce treatment and put him with Britney Spears at the time as well. He's a footnote of nothingness. Like if Leo actually was Anakin but didn't want to do SW after Titanic, no he wanted to shred the heartthrob status and went to Scorcese and Spielberg. The point is despite the "He would have been the biggest thing ever" he never was and his career went nowhere for nearly 20 years, so the word comeback really has no relevance, this would be his first big hit ever on his own. But even that will get an asterisk because this is marketed on Shayamalan, but I'll give it to Hartnett as he is front and center.

And as said earlier, I agree with the online talk, good for him, looks like it will be a legit hit for him he never had on his own once. But he literally has nothing to do with this film's success.

It's post like this that remind one of the importance of quality reading comprehension education.

Your confusing people that had a much stronger, longer body of work with a fresh faced teen sensation that was more like Vinnie Chase in Entourage

1) Definitely am not confusing people with stronger bodies of work. Look at the names I specifically noted as being Hartnett's peers, no idea why you are bringing up Leonardo DiCaprio who was much more established by 2001 even w/ his long absence. Hartnett's peers were Heath Ledger, Freddie Prinze Jr, Chris Klein, Ryan Phillippe, Jake Gyllenhaal, etc. 2001-2003, Hartnett was absolutely more famous than any of those ones. Ashton Kutcher may have been of equal name recognition thanks to his TV and comedy presence, for but obviously wasn't viewed as seriously as a film actor. Ledger is really the only one who would have challenged him and even he had a very rough 2002-winter 2005.
2) Vinnie Chase is actually not a bad comparison for Hartnett tbh

His career arc has been fascinating. He was a very famous young Hollywood personality who missed out on some big opportunities and basically disappeared right around the time most in his position would have been trying to take the leap. It is an interesting career arc, nothing more nothing less.

Also, to be clear, my other note was implying the films quality will be carried by Hartnett. Box office will be mores premise. If the trailer is accurate, Hartnett is going to have to carry the film quality wise.

Older millennial still spend $$$$ on movies. Next up, someone needs to bring back Freddie Prinze jr for an against type role

I remember that Josh was being pushed as the next big thing and he never quite fulfilled the promise. His career may be seeing a resurgence now though.