Netflix has released a new official trailer for Ink, Danny Boyle’s high-energy drama about the birth of modern tabloid journalism, and it wastes no time setting up the collision at the heart of the film: a young Rupert Murdoch, played by Guy Pearce, buying a failing British newspaper and hiring an ambitious editor, played by Jack O’Connell, to turn it into something dangerous.
The trailer, released on Tuesday, November 10, opens in a printing press hall, where Murdoch tells editor Larry Lamb that he has bought The Sun. Lamb dismisses the paper as “a laughing stock”, but Murdoch is undeterred. “Let’s make something dangerous and something fun!” he declares, and the rest of the two-minute-23-second trailer follows Lamb and his team of reporters as they rebuild the paper into a sensational tabloid giant, with Claire Foy as reporter Jules Davies at the centre of the newsroom.
What the Ink trailer reveals
The trailer leans hard on Boyle’s signature energy: rapid cutting, a pulsing newsroom, and a newsroom full of young reporters being urged to give readers exactly what they want. The official synopsis describes the film as “an explosive cinematic rollercoaster about a group of visionaries and misfits who had an idea for a new kind of news — one that would give the people what they want and would change the face of the world we live in today.”
But the trailer also hints at the cost of that revolution. Alongside the newsroom bravado, it touches on the threats and intimidation that followed the paper’s rise, including a kidnapping storyline, underlining that Ink is as much about journalistic ethics and ruthless corporate drive as it is about Fleet Street fun. As the film’s logline puts it, this is “a story about the rise of modern tabloid sensationalism, journalistic ethics, and ruthless corporate drive.”
The true story behind Ink
Ink is set in London in 1969, when Australian businessman Rupert Murdoch bought The Sun, then a struggling daily losing the battle against Britain’s establishment press. He installed Larry Lamb as editor, and together they remade the paper as a brash, populist tabloid, a transformation that reshaped British journalism and made Murdoch a global media power.
The film is adapted by James Graham from his own stage play of the same name, which premiered in London’s West End in 2017 before transferring to Broadway in 2019. The play was a critical success, winning Tony and Olivier awards, and Graham has written the screenplay for Boyle’s film version himself, keeping the story’s theatrical snap intact.
Ink cast and filmmakers
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Jack O’Connell | Larry Lamb, editor of The Sun |
| Guy Pearce | Rupert Murdoch |
| Claire Foy | Jules Davies, a composite of the paper’s female reporters |
The supporting cast includes Blake Harrison, Patrick Kennedy, Angus Imrie, Brian Gleeson, Bertie Carvel, Jonathan Hyde, Lucy Russell and Christopher Fulford. Boyle, the Academy Award-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire, directs and produces alongside Tracey Seaward, Tessa Ross and Michael Ellenberg, for STUDIOCANAL, Media Res and House Productions. The film runs 116 minutes.
The casting carries its own momentum. O’Connell arrives off a standout year that included Sinners and 28 Years Later, Pearce is coming off his acclaimed turn in The Brutalist, and Foy, best known for The Crown and First Man, plays a fictional composite character drawn from several women reporters of the era.
Festival buzz and the road to release
Ink has already played the festival circuit, opening the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2026, before its Toronto premiere on September 15. The December theatrical release places it squarely in the awards-season window, with Netflix giving it a limited run in select US theatres from Friday, December 11, 2026, before its streaming debut in the United States and Latin America on Friday, January 8, 2027.
When and where to watch Ink
Ink opens in select theatres on December 11, 2026, and streams on Netflix in the US and Latin America from January 8, 2027. The new trailer is available now on Netflix’s official channels.
Ink FAQs
When is Ink released?
Ink opens in select US theatres on December 11, 2026, and arrives on Netflix in the United States and Latin America on January 8, 2027.
Who stars in Ink?
Jack O’Connell plays editor Larry Lamb, Guy Pearce plays Rupert Murdoch, and Claire Foy plays reporter Jules Davies. The supporting cast includes Bertie Carvel, Brian Gleeson and Angus Imrie.
Is Ink based on a true story?
Yes. The film dramatises Rupert Murdoch’s 1969 purchase of The Sun and his partnership with editor Larry Lamb to rebuild it as a populist tabloid.
Is Ink based on a play?
Yes. It is adapted by James Graham from his own Tony- and Olivier Award-winning stage play Ink, which premiered in London in 2017 and reached Broadway in 2019.
How long is Ink?
The film runs 116 minutes and is directed by Danny Boyle, the Academy Award-winning director of Slumdog Millionaire.