Oscar-winning director Ron Howard is back with another gripping film. Titled Eden, the upcoming survival drama is based on the real and chilling events that took place on Floreana Island in the Galapagos nearly a century ago. On Wednesday, June 25, the makers dropped the trailer of Eden, which begins with a man saying, 鈥淟adies and gentlemen, you are the very definition of survival of the fittest. To those who dare to dream.鈥
Eden features a star-studded cast, including Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Bruhl, and Sydney Sweeney. The trailer gave viewers a peek into the intense survival drama, which follows a group of European settlers who leave their old lives behind and settle on the deserted Floreana Island in the early 20th century. Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby star as real-life couple Dr. Friedrich Ritter and Dora Strauch Ritter. They left Germany in 1929 to escape the economic problems and the rising tide of fascism. They hoped to live peacefully, but that did not happen.
Soon, more people followed them, including Heinz Wittmer, played by Daniel Bruhl and his wife Margaret, portrayed by Sydney Sweeney, as well as Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (Ana de Armas) and her two lovers. At first, all of them try to build a life on the quiet Island of Floreana. They soon realise that the real danger on the island wasn鈥檛 the wildlife, but each other. The island turned from being peaceful to dangerous, with the trailer even giving hints of violent fights among the settlers using knives and guns.
The official log line of Eden reads: 鈥淓den unravels the shocking true story of a group of disillusioned outsiders who abandon civilisation, settling on a remote, uninhabited island only to discover that the greatest threat isn鈥檛 the brutal climate or deadly wildlife, but each other. As tensions spiral and desperation takes hold, a twisted power struggle unfolds, leading to betrayal, violence, and the deaths of half the colony.鈥
Written by Noah Pink, Eden is a dark comic story of survival inspired by two different real-life accounts of what happened on the island. The film is produced by Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Karen Lunder, Stuart Ford, Bill Connor and Patrick Newall. Before its theatrical release in the US on August 22, Eden premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024. It hit the theatres in Germany on April 3, 2025.