Tom Hardy Ready to Raise 'Havoc' in Netflix Trailer

Considering how fast a turnaround broadcast TV shows live under, it's not all that surprising that most people have no idea how long movies spend in development. Most big-name high-action thrillers can be filmed two to three years before the producers have any thought of the finished product making it to viewers. Between the CGI graphics, the action sequences, and trying to keep within a PG-13 rating, there's sometimes more post-production than actual production. That's not counting things like reshoots and rewrites, which, in the case of Netflix's forthcoming film Havoc, derailed the movie for an entire year while the SAG and WGA strikes were ongoing. Initially greenlit in 2021 as the first project from director Gareth Evans under his Netflix exclusive deal, it's taken almost five years to make it to the streaming platform.

Netflix may refuse to put most of its films in theaters (and Havoc will be no exception), but the studio is bound and determined that whatever happens, its movies on streaming are equal to the ones made for the big screen. Havoc follows that model, ringing in as the largest, most expensive production filmed in Cardiff, not to mention the entirety of Wales. The film sports an international cast that's heavy on British actors, with Tom Hardy (MobLand) leading the feature film, but there are plenty of Americans co-starring as well, including the great Forrest Whitaker (Andor).

The high-end cast makes for a high-end trailer, suggesting Havoc might be worth flipping on some weekend and half-watching. Check it out below.

Here's the synopsis:

Walker is a bruised detective fighting his way through the criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with several factions on his tail: a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, and his fellow cops. When attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a deep web of corruption and conspiracy, he is forced to confront the demons of his past.

Hardy is joined by fellow British stars Jessie Mei Li (Shadow & Bone), Justin Cornwell (The Umbrella Academy), Quelin Sepulveda (Good Omens), Jim Caesar (Big Boys), and Xelia Mendes-Jones (The Wheel of Time), Malaysian actor Yeo Yann Yann (Being Human), plus American actors Timothy Olyphant (The Office), Luis Guzmán (Wednesday), Michelle Waterson (My American Family), plus Whitaker, and Singaporean actor Sunny Pang (Operandi Gerhana). 

The film was written and directed by Gareth Evans (Gangs of London); he is also an executive producer alongside Hardy, plus Ed Talfan and Aram Tertzakian.

Havoc arrives on Netflix on Friday, April 25, 2025.