The more you get hit, the harder you fight in this trailer for SOUTHPAW

Is it still too early to start calling Jake Gyllenhaal the new Gary Oldman? Over the last few years – much like the screen veteran Oldman did/still does – the young Donnie Darko actor has seemingly got a great big infusion of chameleon DNA as he just kept transforming himself from role to outstanding Oscar snubbed role (seriously, how did he not get more award love for Nightcrawler?).

And the latest stop on the on Jake Gyllenhaal Tour of a Thousand Faces is Southpaw, an upcoming boxing drama directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) and penned by Sons of Anarchy‘s Kurt Sutter. Southpaw was originally going to feature hip hop star Eminem in the lead role, but he eventually dropped out of the production letting Gyllenhaal take the reins in his stead. And based on first this trailer (actually released by Eminem himself, who will now be performing an exclusive track on the film’s soundtrack), that seems like the best outcome for all, as Gyllenhaal is clearly on top form. Again.

Billy “The Great” Hope (Gyllenhaal) is the reigning Junior Middleweight Champion with a beautiful family, home and financial security until a tragic accident leaves his wife dead and sends him into a downward spiral. His days now an endless haze of alcohol and prescription drugs, his daughter taken by Child Services and his home repossessed by the bank, Billy’s fate is all but sealed until a washed up former boxer named Tick (Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker) agrees to take the bereaved pugilist under his wing so long as he agrees to his strict ethos. Now, as he works to regain custody of his daughter and mounts a professional comeback, Billy must face his demons head-on as he learns that, sometimes, your greatest opponent can be yourself.

Southpaw also stars Forrest Whitaker, Rachel McAdams, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Rita Ora, Miguel Gomez and Oona Laurence. It is scheduled for release international on July 31, 2015.

Last Updated: March 30, 2015