Bleecker Street has unveiled the first full trailer for “Relay,” director David Mackenzie’s thriller starring Riz Ahmed and Lily James, and set an August 22, 2025 U.S. theatrical date. The film bowed at TIFF last September and will have its U.S. festival launch at Tribeca on June 7 before expanding nationwide.
The two-minute preview positions Ahmed’s character Tom—an enigmatic “fixer” who brokers hush-money deals between corporations and would-be whistle-blowers—as he agrees to protect biotech scientist Sarah, played by James, whose leak threatens a powerful chemical firm. The tense clip, rolled out across studio channels and sites such as JoBlo and The Playlist, leans on sparse dialogue and quick-cut action to highlight Mackenzie’s return to the crime genre after Hell or High Water.
Entertainment Weekly’s first-look feature notes that Ahmed remains silent for the film’s opening half-hour, underscoring Tom’s reliance on anonymity and rigid rules that fray once he takes the job. Writer Justin Piasecki fashions a corporate-espionage narrative that Ahmed likens to contemporary echoes of Michael Clayton and Zodiac, anchored by questions of trust and surveillance. Sam Worthington rounds out the cast as a relentless corporate enforcer.
“Relay” was financed by Black Bear Pictures, Thunder Road and Mackenzie’s own Sigma Films; IMDb production listings show principal photography began in New York and New Jersey in April 2023. The finished cut runs 112 minutes and carries a PG-13 rating for “strong violence and language,” according to Rotten Tomatoes’ newly posted details. Bleecker Street secured U.S. rights last November, looking to position the picture as late-summer counter-programming against franchise fare.
Analysts note that mid-budget thrillers with proven festival pedigree are becoming prized theatrical plays; MovieInsider tags “Relay” among the few non-IP titles on the August slate, while Yahoo highlights growing online chatter following the trailer drop. Mackenzie, who took a seven-year break after Netflix’s Outlaw King, signals with this release a return to the lean, character-driven tension that powered his 2016 Oscar nominee.
