Josh Hartnett’s bloodthirsty new role has his fans in an online frenzy.
The “Virgin Suicides” actor returns to the big screen this summer in the horror thriller “Trap,” directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Due out Aug. 9, the film stars Hartnett as a seemingly doting dad who accompanies his teen daughter to a pop concert.
Tension ensues when the arena is swarmed by police in an attempt to capture a serial killer who is on the premises. As is Shyamalan’s cinematic signature, however, there’s a big twist when it’s revealed that Hartnett’s character may actually be the suspect.
The trailer for “Trap” was unveiled Thursday and instantly drew thirsty responses from fans, who seemed to be recalling their admiration for Hartnett, now 45, during his teen idol heyday in the late 1990s.
Watch the “Trap” trailer below.
“Growing up is when your childhood crush on Josh Hartnett as a rebellious, angsty teen in The Faculty and Halloween H20 evolves into an adulthood crush on Josh Hartnett as a DILF serial killer in Trap,” one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Added another, “My whole timeline is Josh Hartnett and I’m in thirst trap heaven.”
Hartnett had a supporting role in 2023’s “Oppenheimer,” which won the Oscar for Best Picture last month. Still, “Trap” appears to mark his full-fledged return to starring roles, with some already likening his “comeback” to that of Brendan Fraser’s award-winning turn in “The Whale.”
While Hartnett has never given up acting completely, appearing on Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful” from 2014 to 2016, he’s maintained a somewhat low profile in Hollywood in recent years.
In a 2017 interview with HuffPost, he said he’d chosen to step back from the spotlight a bit after feeling like he’d lost “control of my own destiny.”
“To get so consumed with chasing a goal that doesn’t necessarily have to define you is a fool’s errand and I wanted to have a healthy perspective on it,” he said at the time. “Not only a healthy perspective on the fame itself, but the pursuit of wealth and the pursuit of surface values.”
He added, “I wanted to find out what I wanted to do with my life and have had a lot more experiences that are outside of the industry that have been fantastic and I’ve re-found or re-started my love for filmmaking.”