Exclusive poster for Rush featuring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brhl

Rush tells the true story of the rivalry between F1 racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, as played by Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl, and you can see them both on the exclusive poster below.

Set during the 1976 World Championship, the film follows the tensions between the pair following Lauda’s near fatal crash, as their extremely different personalities are reflected in their on-track styles.

The reality-based role will be something of a pit stop for Thor star Hemsworth, who’s best known for fantasy roles in Marvel movies and Snow White & The Huntsman . He recently told us that “the focus was certainly to do something character-based and rooted in reality.”

As well as starring Hemsworth and Inglourious Basterds ’ Brühl, the film also features Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara and Natalie Dormer.

Directed by Ron Howard (who’s known to do a bit of directing in his downtime from narrating Arrested Development ) and scripted by Peter Morgan ( The Queen , Frost/Nixon ), this could be pole position for Oscars once awards season rolls round.

Check out the exclusive poster below:

[ Click on the poster to see it in hi-res ]

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:

Two-time Academy Award® winner Ron Howard ( A Beautiful Mind , Frost/Nixon ), teams once again with fellow two-time Academy Award® nominee, writer Peter Morgan ( Frost/Nixon , The Queen ), on Rush , a spectacular big-screen re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth (
The Avengers ) as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl ( Inglourious Basterds ) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives.

Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing,
Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed - handsome English playboy Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Lauda. Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.

Also starring Olivia Wilde (
TRON: Legacy ) and Alexandra Maria Lara ( The Reader ), Rush is produced by Andrew Eaton ( A Mighty Heart ), Howard, Academy Award® winner Brian Grazer ( Apollo 13 , A Beautiful Mind ), Eric Fellner ( Senna , Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ), Morgan and Brian Oliver ( Black Swan ) and executive produced by Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media, Todd Hallowell and Tim Bevan.

Rush
opens in the UK on 13 September 2013.

For much more from Hemsworth and Brühl on Rush , pick up issue 210 of Total Film magazine, which is out now!

Inside the issue, you’ll find full Comic-Con coverage of the likes of Joss Whedon on Avengers: Age Of Ultron , X-Men: Days Of Future Past , The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , The Crow, Edge Of Tomorrow , Guardians Of The Galaxy , RoboCop , and more, plus Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, Lena Headey, James McAvoy and Matt Damon. Seriously, you’re not going to want to miss this one…

Read a full preview of Total Film magazine issue 210

Buy Total Film magazine issue 210

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.