Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for Steve, a mid-1990s drama led by Cillian Murphy as the embattled headteacher of a last-chance reform school, and set its rollout for a limited theatrical run in September ahead of streaming on October 3. The trailer arrives amid growing fall festival buzz for the film, which is adapted from Max Porter’s bestseller Shy and framed around a single, high-stakes day on campus.
Written by Porter and directed by Tim Mielants, the project pairs Murphy again with the filmmaker behind Small Things Like These. Early materials present a character study that balances institutional pressures with a portrait of a man straining to keep his students—and himself—on course. Netflix’s preview describes Steve as an “understated, intimate” piece that tracks the principal’s choices as rumors of imminent closure mount.
Steve will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month in the Platform competition, with festival communications indicating the film as the strand’s opener. The Platform berth positions the title for cinephile attention and critical discovery before its broader release pattern begins later in September. TIFF runs September 4–14 this year.
The cast includes Jay Lycurgo as a volatile pupil named Shy, alongside Tracey Ullman, Simbi Ajikawo and Emily Watson. First-look coverage emphasized the film’s dual focus on Steve’s fragile composure and Shy’s battle with violent impulses, suggesting a two-hander that toggles between authority figure and teen on the brink. Murphy is among the producers, with Porter serving as an executive producer.
The trailer’s release clarifies the distribution cadence: festival premiere, select theaters in September, then a global Netflix launch on October 3. That schedule follows the streamer’s recent pattern for prestige U.K.–Ireland productions and keeps Murphy in the cultural foreground following his award-season resurgence and continuing collaborations with Mielants.
