The first trailer for STX Entertainment’s new sports dramaNational Champions, a fictional account of the fight by college football players to be fairly compensated, from directorRic Roman Waugh(Greenland), has been released. The film starsJ.K. Simmons(Whiplash),Stephan James(If Beale Street Could Talk), andAlexander Ludwig (Vikings).
The film follows the story of star quarterback LeMarcus James (James) and his teammate Emmett Sunday (Ludwig) who three days before the college football national championship game, start a player’s strike. With the demand that none of the striking players will play in any games until all student-athletes are fairly compensated. With billions of dollars and legacies on the line, and only hours until kickoff, the head coach (Simmons) and various power brokers must race against the clock to protect or destroy the prevailing collegiate athletics system.
In the trailer, we see James’ character, a college quarterback who is highly favored to be recruited into the NFL, risking it all to go public about the unfair treatment of college athletes in an interview — specifically, mentioning how their schools and the sports organizations gain millions in revenue from the work of the student-athletes who receive no compensation. The rest of the trailer shows teases of how the world around them, such as fellow players, their coach, and the college sports complex as a whole, reacts to their strike.
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Joining James, Ludwig, and Simmons in the film areLil Rel Howery(Vacation Friends),Tim Blake Nelson(Watchmen),Russell Wilson(Superbowl Champion Quarterback),Andrew Bachelor(Vacation Friends),Jeffrey Donovan(Burn Notice), andDavid Koechner(Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), withKristin Chenoweth(Schmigadoon!),Timothy Olyphant(Justified), andUzo Aduba(Orange Is The New Black).
The film has been written byAdam Mervis(21 Bridges) and is based on his play of the same name.Basil Iwanyk(John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum),Brendon Boyea(Greenland), andGreg Economouserve as producers on the film.
Catch the trailer forNational Championsbelow and watch it in theaters on December 10:
