Known as quite possibly the most addictive video game of all time, Tetris took the world by storm when it first hit the scene back in 1984, going on to become an enduring classic that's taken on various forms over the years.
But while Tetris is undoubtedly a household name, few likely know the story behind the game and what it took to bring this Soviet-developed masterpiece to the rest of the world during the later phase of The Cold War.
The new Apple Original film Tetris aims to change that, as demonstrated in its first fantastic trailer that kicks off as a standard 1980s tech biopic before taking a hard turn into exciting spy thriller territory.
Of course, it's unlikely the Tetris movie will go full 'Bourne Supremacy' on us, and the film reportedly has a tone more similar to The Social Network (which depicted the origins of Facebook and founder Mark Zuckerberg), as revealed by star Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Rocketman) in a recent interview.
Tetris movie release date
As revealed in the trailer below, the Tetris movie will be streaming on Apple TV Plus from March 31, 2023. For those who can't wait, the film is expected to premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas sometime between March 10 and March 19, 2023.
Tetris movie trailer
The first trailer for Tetris establishes a tone that feels urgent and playful all at once, starting out with a vibe similar to Halt and Catch Fire before swerving into Atomic Blonde territory (albeit without all the violence).
Along with its brilliant use of Europe's classic song The Final Countdown, the trailer also employs some fun, stylistic flourishes, such as the use of video game-inspired pixelation during a car chase scene. Simply put, we can't wait to see more.
Check out the first trailer for Apple's Tetris movie below.
Tetris movie cast
Apple's Tetris movie is led by the aforementioned Taron Egerton, who recently starred in the brilliant Apple TV Plus series Black Bird. Egerton will play Henk Rogers, the Dutch video game publisher responsible for securing the console distribution rights to Tetris (fun fact: Rogers also produced Japan's first ever turn-based role playing game, The Black Onyx).
Russian actor Nikita Yefremov will play Alexey Pajitnov, the Soviet engineer who designed and developed Tetris, while Roger Allam (V For Vendetta, Speed Racer) will play Robert Maxwell, the British MP who was suspected of being a spy.
Rounding out the rest of the cast is Togo Igawa as former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, Ken Yamamura as founder and former president of Nintendo of America Minoru Arakawa, Ben Miles as former Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln and Matthew Marsh as the Soviet Union's final leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Toby Jones, Sofya Lebedeva and Rick Yune also star.
