Lionsgate has debuted the first official trailer for Karōshi, a near-future action-thriller produced by John Wick director Chad Stahelski — and the footage makes it clear this is no ordinary corporate drama. The trailer arrived on Thursday, November 5, 2026, a day after the film’s social accounts teased its arrival, and it wastes little time: swords, blood-red rain and a lone outsider taking on an entire company.
Written and directed by Takashi Doscher, the 88-minute feature stars Teo Yoo, Cynthia Erivo and Giancarlo Esposito, and it is scheduled to reach theatres on Friday, February 5, 2027 — a small move from its previously announced January 29 slot. The trailer’s arrival, alongside a new poster showing a sword-wielding figure emerging from blood-red rain, marks the start of the film’s main marketing push, three months out from release.
What the trailer shows
The official synopsis, quoted in the trailer coverage, sets the scene: Karōshi is an action-thriller set in a near-future Manhattan, “where corporate loyalty and cultural tradition have reshaped everyday life. When a mysterious outsider infiltrates a powerful company after a worker’s death, he exposes the violent system hidden beneath its polished surface.”
That is, for now, most of what the film is willing to say about its plot. The trailer itself is mood and muscle rather than exposition: arterial spray, elevated-train sequences and kinetic, close-quarters choreography. The title is doing thematic work of its own — karōshi is the Japanese word for death by overwork, and the film’s corporate setting turns that idea literal.
The footage also wears its influences openly. Its blend of samurai imagery, formal ritual and sudden violence has drawn comparisons to Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 classic Harakiri. What the trailer does not do is explain itself: no character names have been revealed in the coverage so far, and the precise relationships between the ensemble remain undisclosed. Viewers looking for a full plot breakdown will have to wait for a longer trailer or the film itself.
The team behind it
The headline name is Stahelski, who directed every film in the main John Wick franchise and built a reputation for precise, long-take action choreography. Here he produces, through his 87Eleven Entertainment banner alongside True North, with Jason Spitz, Alex Young and Nathan Kahane.
The director’s chair belongs to Takashi Doscher, whose previous features include Only and Still. Doscher also wrote the film, making Karōshi his largest-scale project to date — a significant step up in ambition from his earlier, smaller dramas. Production took place in Vancouver, running from June to August 2025 under the working title Koi.
The cast
Teo Yoo, the star of Past Lives, leads the film as the mysterious outsider at the centre of the story, and he is the figure doing most of the sword work in the trailer. Around him is an ensemble that mixes screen veterans with rising names: Isabel May, Takehiro Hira of Shōgun, Bill Camp, Show Kasamatsu of Tokyo Vice, Giancarlo Esposito and Cynthia Erivo.
Erivo, fresh from Wicked, and Esposito give Lionsgate two marquee names for the campaign, while Yoo — a dramatic actor rather than an established action star — suggests the film is aiming for character as well as carnage.
From January to February: the date move
Karōshi was previously dated for January 29, 2027; the shift to February 5 is a single week, but it places the film in a busier early-2027 corridor. The trailer’s November debut leaves three months for the campaign to build, with a second trailer and the usual poster and clip rollout still to come.
What it means — and what’s next
Karōshi lands in a moment when the “John Wick-adjacent” label is both a blessing and a burden: Stahelski’s name guarantees attention, but it also invites comparison with the franchise that defined the genre for a decade. The trailer’s answer is to lean into a different register: less gun-fu, more blades; less underworld mythology, more corporate satire with a samurai edge.
Whether that gamble pays off will depend on what the film does with its premise beyond the trailer’s striking images. A corporate thriller about a rigged system, told through sword fights in a near-future Manhattan, is a strong pitch — but the plot details remain thin, and the film will need a second trailer to show whether the story has the depth to match its style.
Frequently asked questions
When did the Karōshi trailer come out?
The first official trailer debuted on Thursday, November 5, 2026, a day after the film’s official accounts announced its arrival. Lionsgate released it alongside a new poster.
When is Karōshi released?
Friday, February 5, 2027, through Lionsgate. It was previously dated for January 29, 2027.
Who stars in Karōshi?
Teo Yoo leads the cast, alongside Isabel May, Takehiro Hira, Bill Camp, Show Kasamatsu, Giancarlo Esposito and Cynthia Erivo. Character names have not been disclosed in the trailer coverage so far.
What is Karōshi about?
It is a near-future action-thriller set in Manhattan, where corporate loyalty and cultural tradition have reshaped everyday life. A mysterious outsider infiltrates a powerful company after a worker’s death and exposes the violent system beneath its polished surface. Beyond that official synopsis, plot details remain vague — the trailer sells mood and action rather than story.