New ‘Whalefall’ Clip Puts Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin at Sea Before the Whale Ever Shows Up
Some movie premises sell themselves in a single sentence. A man gets swallowed alive by a sperm whale and has one hour to escape is exactly that kind of pitch, and it has fueled plenty of internet jokes since the first trailer landed. Behind the memes, though, ‘Whalefall’ is shaping up as one of the more unusual survival thrillers of the season.
The film comes from 20th Century Studios and Imagine Entertainment, and it adapts Daniel Kraus’s acclaimed 2023 novel. Directed by Brian Duffield, it has become a curious mix of creature feature and intimate character study.
On September 30, Film Crave shared a new clip on X from Duffield’s ‘Whalefall’, starring Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin. The movie is set to open in theaters on October 16, less than 3 weeks after the clip’s release.
Rather than showing the whale, the footage places both actors aboard a boat. According to Comic Basics, Abrams sits in the wheelhouse in a gray hoodie and cap while Brolin, sporting a gray beard and maroon cap, steers and stares out at open water. It’s a calm, character-focused moment that hints at the emotional weight behind the horror.
Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, a young man struggling with the death of his father, Mitt, played by Brolin. Jay dives off California’s Central Coast in search of his father’s remains, only to be swallowed whole by a massive sperm whale. Trapped inside with roughly an hour of oxygen, he must rely on the lessons his father taught him to survive.
New poster for 'WHALEFALL', in theaters October 16.
— Brad Miska @ Dread Central (@DreadCentral) September 30, 2026
See it early in Regal 4DX on October 14 with a complimentary Whalebucket and popcorn, while supplies last.
Get the details: [https://t.co/zhJGtee3Pm] pic.twitter.com/JM2FkfgZ2f
The film unfolds almost in real time as Jay moves through the animal while his air supply dwindles. That structure means the movie rests heavily on Abrams’s performance. Duffield has said he wanted to trap 2 people inside the whale: Jay and the audience.
New clip from Brian Duffield’s ‘WHALEFALL’ starring Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin. 🎥 In theaters on October 16. https://t.co/KXejrevtj2
— Film Crave (@_filmcrave) September 30, 2026
Abrams went to great lengths for the role. Dread Central noted that he swam with sperm whales to prepare, and Laughing Place reported that the experience took place in the Dominican Republic. Duffield praised his dedication to making the experience feel real.
The cast also includes Elisabeth Shue, John Ortiz, Jane Levy, and Emily Rudd. Duffield co-wrote the screenplay with Kraus, and Brian Grazer, Duffield, Jeb Brody, and Allan Mandelbaum produce for Imagine Entertainment. 20th Century Studios reportedly won a bidding war for the project in March 2024.
Timing has worked in the actor’s favor. Laughing Place pointed out that Abrams, an alum of ‘The Walking Dead’ and ‘Weapons’, is having a star-making fall, as he leads ‘Resident Evil’, which opened just weeks before ‘Whalefall’ and is currently the number one movie in the world. Playing characters in wildly intense situations in 2 major releases is a rare kind of exposure.
Whale, whale, whale…. look at what's swimming soon to Regal 🐋
— Regal (@RegalMovies) September 30, 2026
Get the Whalefall collectible popcorn container, going on sale starting October 15. Tickets for Whalefall are on sale now: https://t.co/EyywMfY2ex
All merch is at select locations, while supplies last. pic.twitter.com/r1JbvhVhnA
Duffield, meanwhile, arrives with a genre-friendly résumé. He wrote ‘No One Will Save You’ and ‘Spontaneous’ and produced ‘Cocaine Bear’. That background makes him a natural fit for a film that balances absurd-sounding stakes with real tension.
The A.V. Club argued that in a month packed with hardcore horror releases, ‘Whalefall’ might be the scariest of them all. It described the story as a scuba diver swallowed by an 80-foot sperm whale who has to escape his disgusting prison. The outlet added that, judging by the trailer, the movie will not skimp on the inherent grossness of the concept.
That combination of dread, sincerity, and gross-out spectacle could be a major draw. It also positions the film as counterprogramming to a spooky season crowded with monsters and ghosts. If the clips are any indication, the emotional father-and-son story may give the horror real weight.
With release day fast approaching, the marketing has struck a smart balance between meme-friendly absurdity and genuine suspense. Now audiences just have to decide whether they’re brave enough to go inside.
Are you excited to see Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin in Whalefall?
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