Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos reunite in Poor Things teaser

It’s been five years since Yorgos Lanthimos released The Favourite, the first of his caustic cinematic fables to get serious Oscar attention—winning for Olivia Colman’s plaintive, tragic performance as Queen Anne of Great Britain.

Since then, Lanthimos has mostly kept his head down, releasing a handful of short films in the intervening years, but nothing more significant in length. That changed today, though, when Searchlight Pictures released the first teaser trailer for Poor Things, Lanthimos’ latest film—after first unleashing an image from the film, apparently showing star Emma Stone standing in front of a window that a less reputable publication might call a “dick-window,” but which we, as really classy folks, will merely note is “highly suggestive.”

Poor Things follows “the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe),” per the film’s synopsis. “Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.”

The teaser hints at a more fantastical world than Lanthimos’ previous films, with surreal steampunk visuals, odd, colorful landscapes, and sumptuous costumes. A Frankenstein’s monster for a new age, Stone’s Bella is “finding being alive fascinating,” trying new foods and giving Mark Ruffalo a slap on the face. The clip offers only the briefest taste of the film to come, but it’s one you won’t want to spit out (unlike whatever meal Bella is having in the trailer).

Poor Things reunites Lanthimos with Favourite star Emma Stone, along with writer Tony McNamara, who co-wrote that earlier film. In addition to Stone, the film co-stars Ruffalo, Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, and Margaret Qualley. Poor Things is currently scheduled for a September 8, 2023 release.