Normal | First trailer for Bob Odenkirk and director Ben Wheatley’s action thriller

Bob Odenkirk plays a sheriff under fire in Normal – the forthcoming action thriller from director Ben Wheatley. Here’s a trailer: Joining his pair of Nobody movies, next year’s Normal is another thriller for Bob Odenkirk – a seasoned comedian and actor who’s made a belated move into the action arena. Odenkirk stars as Ulysses, ... Normal | First trailer for Bob Odenkirk and director Ben Wheatley’s action thriller

Bob Odenkirk plays a sheriff under fire in Normal – the forthcoming action thriller from director Ben Wheatley. Here’s a trailer:

Joining his pair of Nobody movies, next year’s Normal is another thriller for Bob Odenkirk – a seasoned comedian and actor who’s made a belated move into the action arena.

Odenkirk stars as Ulysses, a sheriff in the title’s unassuming Minnesota town. One bank robbery later, and it seems that every resident in Normal wants to kill Ulysses – leading to what looks like a blood-soaked battle royale in diners and snowy car parks.

There’s quite a power couple behind the camera. Normal's screenwriter is Derek Kolstad – creator of the John Wick franchise and writer of the Nobody films, while its director is Ben Wheatley, who knows a thing or two about big screen mayhem. Although his work spans genres, Wheatley made the snappy, bullet-riddled action thriller High-Rise in 2016 and staged some entertaining set-pieces in the Jason Statham versus prehistoric shark flick, Meg 2: The Trench.

Normal played in the Midnight Madness segment at the Toronto Film Festival in September, where it received a decidedly warm reception from both the crowd and most critics – “Imagine if Walter Hill directed Hot Fuzz” was how writer Joonatan Itkonan strikingly put it.

Read more: John Wick at 10 | Its writing story is one of extraordinary tenacity

The editor’s corkingly edited, too: its 90 seconds cramming in lots of Fargo-esque small town quaintness before going the full John Woo near the end.

Normal is out in US cinemas on the 17th April 2026; we’re still awaiting a release date on these shores, but we’ll update this post when we hear of one.

In the meantime, do mark Bulk in your diaries: Ben Wheatley’s low-budget genre piece is touring UK cinemas in January and February. It’s weird, one of our most anticipated sci-fi films of 2026, and well worth seeking out when it appears in your neck of the woods.