The newest trailer for Emma Watson's latest film Colonia has just been released, and while the historical drama has very little in common with the movies that made the Hermione Granger of our hearts a worldwide phenomenon, there is one thing that can be said about the stars featured in the flick: together they create the most intriguing expanded universe since the last Marvel movie.
Like Watson, the other stars of Colonia are best known for internationally recognized fare: Daniel Brühl is best known for his role as Nazi sniper Fredrick Zoller in the Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds, and Michael Nyqvist, who plays Colonia's antagonist, as Mikael Blomkvist in the original Swedish adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
So what does this mean? In a very roundabout, metafictional way, it could be argued that Colonia serves as the point that ties the worlds of Harry Potter, TGWTDT, and Inglourious Basterds together. Keeping in mind the serious nature of Colonia's narrative, a world with Hogwarts, Lisbeth Salander and the prevailing World War II alt-history ending in pop culture sounds like a world we'd all wish could coexist.
Here's an official synopsis of the film, according to the Toronto International Film Festival site:
"Chile, 1973. Lufthansa flight attendant Lena (Watson) is in Santiago to visit her boyfriend, Daniel (Brühl), a talented graphic artist creating images in support of embattled President Salvador Allende. When Allende is violently ousted, General Augusto Pinochet's forces begin rounding up dissidents. Daniel is taken to the remote stronghold of Colonia Dignidad ("Dignity Colony"), home to a secret agricultural commune and crypto-fascist sect led by sinister minister Paul Schäfer (Michael Nyqvist). Daniel is interrogated and tortured, but feigns severe mental deterioration to stay alive. Valiant and wily, Lena travels to Colonia and offers herself up to Schäfer as a follower. She is determined to find and free Daniel -- but first she must ensure that she herself can survive Schäfer's crushingly oppressive, viciously misogynistic practices."
The feather in the cap? Brühl's next big appearance will be as Baron Zemo in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, tying Colonia's very meta EU back to the current reigning sovereign of EUs in cinema, Marvel. A very comic-like move, indeed.
Colonia is scheduled for a limited release on April 15, as well as through video on demand. Check out the trailer below.
