Netflix’s Biggest Oscar Contender With 97% RT Score Reveals Star-Studded Cast In First Trailer

The first trailer for Train Dreams has arrived. Directed by Clint Bentley, who co-wrote the script with Greg Kwedar based on the 2011 novella by Denis Johnson, the upcoming film follows a logger working on the railroad in early 20th-century America, causing him to spend significant time away from his family and question his place in a rapidly changing world.

Its star-studded cast includes Golden Globe nominee Joel Edgerton (Loving), two-time Oscar nominee Felicity Jones (The Brutalist, The Theory of Everything), Emmy nominee Clifton Collins Jr. (Thief), Oscar nominee Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Oscar nominee William H. Macy (Fargo), Chuck Tucker, Paul Schneider, John Diehl, Alfred Hsing, Nathaniel Arcand, Johnny Arnoux, and Will Patton.

Now, Netflix has released the first official teaser trailer for Train Dreams. In addition to revealing its star-studded cast, the trailer offers a poignant depiction of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a logger and railroad laborer whose life unfolds with surprising richness and quiet beauty amid the swiftly evolving landscape of early 20th-century America. Watch the trailer below:

What The Train Dreams Trailer Means For The Movie

It’s Netflix’s Biggest Oscar Contender

Though awards season has yet to truly begin, the Train Dreams trailer positions it as Netflix’s biggest Oscar contender. Train Dreams premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival this past January, where Train Dreams’ reviews praised it as visually stunning, emotionally rich, poetically restrained, deeply human, and a quietly powerful tale of forgotten lives, resulting in a stellar 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Train Dreams trailer highlights much of the acclaim for the film, with critics calling it “a staggering work of art” featuring “breathtaking visual splendor” and a “career-best performance from Joel Edgerton.” His lead performance is bound to attract some awards-season attention, along with several others, as the cast includes three previous Oscar nominees in Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, and William H. Macy.

Train Dreams is also directed by Clint Bentley, who co-wrote the script with Greg Kwedar, the duo having previously received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for Sing Sing.

Our Take On The Train Dreams Trailer

Is It This Year’s Brutalist?

Based on the trailer, Train Dreams could be this year’s version of The Brutalist. Both are great American epics that explore similar themes regarding identity, dislocation, and reinvention during seismic shifts in the country’s history. Each film frames its protagonist’s struggles against America’s transformation during the early 20th Century, boasting powerhouse performances and visual splendor.

Interestingly enough, Joel Edgerton was originally cast in The Brutalist as László Tóth before eventually being replaced by Adrien Brody, who won his second Academy Award for the performance. Felicity Jones also starred as his wife, Erzsébet Tóth, and received her second Oscar nod. Now, Train Dreams offers Edgerton another chance at a great American epic.

Source: Netflix