A new trailer for HBO’s Lovecraft Country just dropped. And while the first trailer for the upcoming horror series teased supernatural scares, the latest clip focuses on far more tangible and all-too-relevant fears plaguing America: racial violence and police brutality.
Based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, Lovecraft Country is created by Misha Green and executive produced by Green, Jordan Peele, and J.J. Abrams. The historical horror drama stars Jonathan Majors as Atticus Black, a young black man who takes off across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael K. Williams) and his family's secret legacy. Atticus teams up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to find out what happened to Montrose. As they journey across the country in search of the truth, they confront creatures ripped from a Lovecraft horror tale and disturbingly real bigotry and racial violence.
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The first trailer for Lovecraft Country, released in May, set an ominous mood with its warped-record soundtrack and flashes of cosmic creatures. The latest trailer, however, lays bare Lovecraft Country's racial themes, making clear that at its core, this is a show about race. Filled with scenes of police barricades, burning crosses, Atticus and his fellow travelers being chased down by cop cars, and black Americans with their hands up in the street, the show captures the traumas of 1950s America, traumas that we're still suffering in America today.
As its name suggests, Lovecraft Country engages with the works of H.P. Lovecraft, an author whose openly racist views are a point of continued debate within the horror community. In 2015, in response to a lobbying campaign led by writers and readers, the World Fantasy Convention retired the bust of Lovecraft as its World Fantasy award. The latest trailer is a clear reminder that Lovecraft Country's themes are more relevant than ever and that racism and racialized violence in America is far from over.
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Lovecraft Country is set to premiere in August, with no release date yet set. Check out the new trailer below, and make sure to watch Lovecraft Country when it airs later this summer.
Featured still from 'Lovecraft Country' via HBO
