Julianne Moore goes all "A Streetcar Named Marge" in The Debut trailer

Paul Giamatti also stars in Jesse Eisenberg's newest directorial effort.

By Drew Gillis  |  June 23, 2026 | 9:09am
Image courtesy of A24
Film News The Debut
Julianne Moore goes all

A stay at home mom auditions for a community theater production on a lark. At first she wonders if she’s gotten in over her head, but eventually she learns to tap into the repressive life she faces at home to bring out a performance that no one expected. Yes, this the premise of the classic Simpsons episode “A Streetcar Named Marge,” but it’s also the premise we’ve gleaned from the first trailer for Jesse Eisenberg’s third directorial effort, The Debut. In this version, it’s Julianne Moore who plays the repressed housewife who is able to tap into something more explosive by the best director in New Jersey community theater, played here by Paul Giamatti. 

Based at least on the first trailer and what we know about them as actors, Moore and Giamatti feel like a fairly inspired combination. Elsewhere, the film also stars Eisenberg (who also wrote the screenplay), Halle Bailey, Cara Buono, Craig Bierko, and Eldar Isgandarov. Bernadette Peters is also named in a press release, though she’s nowhere to be found in the trailer. The Debut doesn’t have a public release date yet, but it is expected in theaters later this year. 

 
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