The Tomorrow War trailer, release date, cast and latest news

The Tomorrow War
(Image credit: Amazon via Facebook)

Are you ready for a future to save the present? The Tomorrow War asks just that question, and it's going to touch down on Amazon Prime Video this summer. We're tantalizingly close to its July release, and even though theaters are starting to reopen, you'll be pleased to know that you can watch the Tomorrow War from the comfort of your couch on one of the best TVs

The Tomorrow War looks set to be an action-packed blockbuster that pits a platoon of men and women against an alien invasion. But it's not that simple — mostly because battling space invaders has been done to death at this point.

The sci-fi cup runneth over by throwing in the fact that both soldiers and civilians are getting roped into this war by time-traveling army recruiters from 2051 who have presumably run out of canon fodder and need more bodies to throw at the problem. 

As we ramp up towards release, we'll no doubt see more trailers, movie posters, and photos of the cast looking primed and ready to face off against a bunch of aliens. We don't have a massive amount of content to sift through right now, but it's enough to whet your appetite.

Let's dive in to everything we know about The Tomorrow War so far.

The Tomorrow War release date

The Tomorrow War

(Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)

The Tomorrow War has a release date of  July 2, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video. The movie was initially scheduled for a theatrical release from Paramount Pictures in the Christmas 2020 window, but the studio postponed. 

With all the COVID-19 related disruption, the rights for The Tomorrow War were eventually sold to Amazon, which is maintaining the summer launch window and bringing the film to its streaming service.  

The Tomorrow War trailer

The first full trailer for The Tomorrow War is here, and it's full of chaos. An explosion on a soccer field heralds the message from the future. And Dan Forester (Chris Pratt) decides he has to enlist (even though he isn't required to) to protect his wife Emmy (Betty Gilpin) from being drafted. 

He's then given an accessory to help him time travel, and we reveal he's ex-military. 

Want more detail? The film's synopsis reads as follows:

"In The Tomorrow War, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. 

"The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). 

"Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet."

Clocking in at under 30 seconds long, there's not a lot to look at but we do get a peek of what I'm assuming is the ravaged remains of a city in 2051, and a lot of shots of Chris Pratt holding a gun. 

Director Chris McKay describes the movie as a blend of "action, horror, comedy, and drama," (via CBR) so we may see some of the film's lighter moments in future trailers.  

The Tomorrow War photos

Chris Pratt shared the first photo of The Tomorrow War back in November, 2019, revealing the name change from the original title: Ghost Draft. The film is Pratt's first time acting as executive producer on a project, which the actor was suitably stoked about. 

He promised more pictures and posts from the set, and shared a bunch of images from the film, which you can check out below. Pratt also posted some amazing concept art from the film on his Instagram account which gives us a brief overview of his character's potential arc: Has wife and kid, gets conscripted to fight aliens, squad is his family now. 

There's an extra post from The Tomorrow War official Instagram account of the whole cast (or a significant portion at least) on set, after wrapping up filming in January 2020. We've got all of the content below so you can pore through at your leisure.   

The Tomorrow War cast 

Chris Pratt plays "high school teacher and family man Dan Forester" who joins the fight to save the planet for his daughter, according to the teaser trailer's YouTube description. The awesome J.K. Simmons (J. Jonah Jameson in Spider-Man) takes on the mantle of Dan Forester's estranged father who is also somehow conscripted or involved in the whole drafting process. According to his IMDB page, his character's name is Slade, but that's not been officially confirmed.

The pair are joined by Yvonne Strahovski, who those of you playing the Mass Effect Legendary Edition may recognise as Miranda Lawson. For the non-gamers amongst you, Strahovski more recently starred in The Handmaid's Tale, and portrays "brilliant scientist" Vicki Winslow in The Tomorrow War, although we don't know if she's a time-traveling scientist, or one from the present just yet. 

Alongside those actors are a list of other confirmed names, although we don't yet have details on the characters they'll play. It's safe to say they'll be soldiers, civilians, or scientists, and that Ryan Kiera Armstrong will likely play Pratt's daughter, but we'll add more information as we get it. Some of the character names are cropping up on IMDB pages, so we've speculatively put those in for now.

The Tomorrow War is directed by Chris McKay (The Lego Movie, The Lego Batman Movie), and written by Zach Dean (24 Hours to Live, Deadfall).

  • Betty Gilpin (GLOW, The Hunt) — Emmy
  • Sam Richardson (The Office, Veep) — Charlie
  • Edwin Hodge (If Not Now, When?, Mayans M.C.) — Dorian
  • Jasmine Mathews (Heathers, Blue Bloods) — Lt. Hart
  • Ryan Kiera Armstrong (Black Widow, The Glorias) — Muri
  • Keith Powers (Before I Fall, What/If) — Major Greenwood
  • Theo Von (comedian) 
  • Mary Lynn Rajskub (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) — Norah
  • Olaolu Winfunke (Ruthless) — Captain Woods
  • Seychelle Gabriel (Get Shorty) — Sgt. Diaz
  • Alan Trong (Alita: Battle Angel) — Lt. Tran
  • Chibuikem Uche (American Housewife) — Lt. Ikemba
  • Alexis Louder (Watchmen) 
  • Mike Mitchell (Doughboys) — Cowan
  • Mia Naipaul (Unqualified) 
Shabana Arif

Shabana is T3's News Editor covering tech and gaming, and has been writing about video games for almost a decade (and playing them since forever). As well as contributing to Tom's Guide, she's had bylines at major gaming sites during her freelance career before settling down at T3, and has podcasts, streaming, and video content under her belt to boot. Outside of work, she also plays video games and should really think about expanding her hobbies.