Hail, Michael Fassbender! It's the first pulse-pounding trailer for MACBETH!

Are you one of those people who, when you hear the name Shakespeare, you think it’s all boring crusty stories about old people talking funny? Well, ok, there are a few of those, but for the most part, the Bard’s work actually makes for pretty exciting and entertaining fare, as you have several stories steeped in violence, sex, drama, intrigue, mythology and even some slapstick-ish comedy.

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s tales that features 5 out of 6 of those conditions (sorry, the “Macbeth slips on a banana peel” gag didn’t make the draft) by the bucketload and is subsequently also one of his most well known. Strangely enough though, even with such wide appeal, it’s also been one that hasn’t exactly lent itself well to the movie screen – there haven’t been many adaptations and excluding Orson Welles and Roman Polanksi’s respective 1940’s and 1970’s versions, most of them have been pretty crummy.

But it looks like that is all going to change though thanks to director Justin Kurzel’s latest stab at Macbeth, which sees the Oscar nominated Michael Fassbender as the titular Scottish general whose bloodthirsty ambitions sees him killing his King to claim the throne, an act that sets him on a pitch black downward spiral of guilt, paranoia and lots, lots more bloodshed. Oscar winner Marion Cotillard plays Lady Macbeth, who – along with a famous trio of prophesying witches – helps to instigate the patricide that ultimately dooms their lives.

The film debuted at Cannes a few weeks ago, and thus far the critical consensus has been incredible, with many praising the ferocious film as not just one of the best Shakespeare adaptations ever, but also one of the best movies of the year. And judging from this incredibly dark and intense first trailer, it’s not hard to see why.

And as a bonus, here are two clips from the film that have also been released.

Damn, that looks amazing! Brutal and unrelenting, but amazing! Know what’s even more amazing? The very same director and lead actors who made that are the guys making the Assassins Creed movie. Just let that sink in for a bit.

Macbeth also stars Sean Harris, David Thewlis, Paddy Considine and Jack Treynor. It is scheduled for limited international release on October 2, 2015.

Last Updated: June 5, 2015