Idris Elba Stars in Kathryn Bigelow's 'A House of Dynamite'

The name Kathryn Bigelow may not be instantly recognizable to those outside the entertainment industry, but most people have probably seen her films. The first woman to ever win an Academy Award for Best Director, she took home that honor in 2009 for the Iraq War film, The Hurt Locker, which she followed up with Zero Dark Thirty, a dramatization of the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden. Her last film, 2017's Detroit, a film about the 1967 riots starring John Boyega, was not nearly as successful as her previous films, and she disappeared for a bit. However, in 2024, Netflix announced that Bigelow had signed with them to produce her next movie.

The name Idris Elba, on the other hand, is probably very recognizable. One of the hottest men on the planet, he broke big on HBO's The Wire in the U.S. and then returned to London, where he took on the iconic titular role in Luther. While he's been honored for his work — Luther scored him a Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for every year he was in it; he took home a SAG Award and a BAFTA nomination for Beasts of No Nation — he has never been seriously discussed in the race for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. So when it was announced he signed on to lead Bigelow's forthcoming film at Netflix, it was him putting everyone on notice that ends now.

As the first female winner for Best Director, Bigelow's films are awards-season shoo-ins (even Detroit garnered some interest), and any film that is set in the theater of war is doubly so. While this may be the first you've heard about the forthcoming film, I promise it won't be the last.

Like Bigelow's other war films, the synopsis is deceptively simple.

When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.

Elba leads an ensemble cast including fellow British actors Rebecca Ferguson (Dune), Jared Harris (Foundation), and Jonah Hauer-King (World on Fire). The movie also stars American actors Moses Ingram (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Jason Clarke (Oppenheimer), Kaitlyn Dever (The Last of Us), Tracy Letts (Little Women), Greta Lee (Miracle Workers), Brittany O’Grady (The White Lotus), and Gbenga Akinnagbe (Elementary). 

Supporting cast includes Willa Fitzgerald (Little Women), Kyle Allen (A Haunting in Venice), Gabriel Basso (The Night Agent), Anthony Ramos (In the Heights), Brian Tee (Expats), Renée Elise Goldsberry (Girls5eva), and newcomer Malachi Beasley, in his feature debut.

Kathryn Bigelow directs from a script written by Noah Oppenheim (Zero Day). Both are executive producers on the project alongside Greg Shapiro, Brian Bell, and Sarah Bremner. Conclave's Volker Bertelmann composed the soundtrack.

A House of Dynamite debuts in "select theaters" (aka NYC and LA) in early October 2025, before moving to stream on Netflix starting Friday, October 24, 2025.