Da 5 Bloods trailer showcases Spike Lee’s new Netflix movie

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Spike Lee strikes gold in this sobering Vietnam War movie

(Image credit: Netflix)

Netflix has debuted the first trailer for Da 5 Bloods, Spike Lee’s first movie since Best Picture nominee BlackkKlansman in 2018.

Set for release on June 12, Da 5 Bloods sees a group of African-American ex-soldiers (longtime Spike Lee collaborator Delroy Lindo, Norm Lewis, and The Wire’s Isiah Whitlock Jr. and Clarke Peters) heading back to Vietnam in search of their fallen comrade’s body (Chadwick Boseman, who appears in flashbacks) as well as lost buried treasure.

Apart from being *gasp* an actual new release, why should you get invested in Da 5 Bloods? The Netflix trailer should make it patently obvious pretty quickly: it oozes all the washed-out style and swagger of the 1960s, while also offering a sobering post-conflict dialogue on war and race. It may be too reductive to say it’s what an Apocalypse Now sequel would look like if it’s directed by Spike Lee, but it’s pretty darn close.

Netflix, meanwhile, is looking busy over the coming weeks and months. The Steve Carell workplace comedy Space Force debuts on May 29, while Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams star in the wonderfully silly Eurovision movie, The Story of Fire Saga in June.

But it’s Da 5 Bloods which could make the biggest splash. After all, there aren’t many bigger movie events than “A Spike Lee Joint” being let free into the world. Whisper it, but it could crash on to your personal list of best war movies as Spike Lee aims to do what Spike Lee does best: make a statement.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.