Watch the Trailer for The Idol, Starring Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd

HBO simply dropped a trailer for The Idol, forward of its premiere on June 5. Created by Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye and Sam Levinson (Euphoria), the sequence serves as a twisted romance satire of the leisure business by way of the eyes of a fallen pop idol struggling to return to stardom. Exploitation, medicine, intercourse, and pop music run rampant on this closing trailer, all of which had been additionally the topic of controversy on the Cannes Movie Pageant — extra particularly, the overtly graphic sexual scenes, alongside issues relating to some on-set turmoil. Levinson additionally directs all six episodes of The Idol.

The Idol trailer opens with a voiceover from Tedros (The Weeknd), a self-help guru who additionally occurs to be operating a modern-day cult, slowly seeping into Jocelyn’s (Lily-Rose Depp) life. “You are the American dream,” he tries to encourage her. “Rags to riches. Trailers to mansions. You might be f–king Jocelyn. Simply be you.” The aspiring pop idol is determined for that sort of consideration, within the wake of her nervous breakdown which prompted her final tour to get cancelled. Jocelyn is in a freefall, so to talk, and desires to achieve that additional edge that will assist her reclaim her stardom. That is the place the nightclub proprietor Tedros entered the scene, providing enter on her life decisions, wardrobe, and collaborators, hoping to show Jocelyn right into a star to be reckoned with. The Idol trailer depicts these modifications by way of her overly sexual dance strikes that trigger fear amongst her crew members.

“I am telling you proper now, these individuals in listed below are gauging whether or not or not you continue to bought it,” supervisor Future (Da’Vine Pleasure Randolph) warns Jocelyn, highlighting how judgemental and exploitative the business is. It is much more vexing taking the backup dancers and strippers into consideration, who’re simply ‘out-femmeing’ her. Dyanne (Jennie Ruby Jane) is one such dancer who reveals excessive promise — sufficient to interchange Jocelyn because the lead performer. The Idol trailer then focuses on her friends who’re involved about Tedros’ involvement, with voiceovers saying, “He is brainwashed her.” It is exhausting to persuade her out of that relationship both, because the trailer implies that she has fallen in love with Tedros and that they’re inseparable.

As The Idol trailer blends right into a montage of flashing lights and celebrations, Tedros describes Jocelyn as a ‘star’ and ‘not a human being’, which she seems to be completely fantastic with, suggesting that she’s most likely at midnight about how a lot cash and fame her boyfriend good points out of her exploitation. “By no means belief a dude with a rat tail,” Future remarks, sitting inside a automotive. The Idol additionally stars Suzanna Son (Crimson Rocket), singer Troy Sivan, Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek), Rachel Sennott (Our bodies Our bodies Our bodies), and Eli Roth (Inglourious Basterds).

As talked about earlier than, The Idol wasn’t with out its justifiable share of on-set drama, with authentic director Amy Seimetz exiting from the present resulting from huge inventive overhauls. Reports counsel that when Levinson got here on board to interchange her, he scrapped the nearly-finished $75 million (about Rs. 620 crore) undertaking to rewrite and reshoot solely. Co-creator Tesfaye/ The Weeknd reportedly appears to be the driving pressure right here, who felt the present was heading in direction of a ‘feminine perspective.’

The Idol premieres June 5 on JioCinema in India. Areas with HBO/ Max obtainable can stream the present on June 4, beginning at 9pm ET.