Brendan Fraser fans have been treated to a first look at his upcoming movie.
Once one of the biggest stars in Hollywood with leading roles in action flicks like The Mummy, Fraser has kept relatively low-key over the last decade.
But that's all about to change. The 53-year-old actor will be back on the big screen soon in Darren Aronofsky's drama The Whale, in which he stars as a man living with obesity and struggling to connect with his teenage daughter.
To coincide with the announcement that the film will premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, A24 has released a first look at Fraser in the movie.
Compared to his days as an action star in The Mummy, Fraser is almost unrecognizable in the released film still, which shows him balding and in the role of the 600lb protagonist.
He'll be joined by Stranger Things star Sadie Sink, Hong Chau, and Samantha Morton in the flick, which is Aronofsky's first directorial effort since the 2017 horror movie Mother.
Chatting to Unilad last year about his performance in The Whale, Fraser revealed that it would be "like something you haven’t seen before."
He continued: "That’s really all I can tell you…The wardrobe and costume was extensive, seamless, cumbersome. This is certainly far removed from anything I’ve ever done but not to be coy…I do know it’s going to make a lasting impression."
A24 has not yet announced a release date for The Whale, but we'll get a flavor of what critics make of it when it premieres at the Venice Film Festival in September.
After being one of the biggest stars of the noughties, Fraser stepped back from acting to focus on his mental and physical health.
However, he's recently begun making a comeback, landing huge roles in Martin Scorsese's Apple TV movie Killers Of The Flower Moon, Max Barbakow's Brothers, and DC's Batgirl.
This career resurgence has led to fans flooding social media with messages of support for the George of the Jungle star. Some are even calling this period in the actor's career "the Brendan Fraser renaissance", or just "the Brenaissance".
