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Eli Bell, played by Felix Cameron, smiles in a still from Boy Swallows Universe on Netflix.

Boy Swallows Universe Trailer Teases a Dark Coming of Age Story

Following an evocative teaser earlier this month, Netflix has dropped a full-length trailer for its upcoming coming-of-age crime adaptation, Boy Swallows Universe. The new trailer gives a better feel for the direction of the story, as well as locking in a January release date for the series.

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The trailer opens with protagonist Eli Bell (Felix Cameron) approaching a newspaper office claiming to have a story to tell. “It’s a crime story,” he tells the receptionist, launching into a trailer that showcases both the humor and heartbreak that the series is sure to deliver. We get a look at a handful of iconic scenes from the book, including the kidnapping of Eli’s father-in-law Lyle Orlick (Travis Fimmel) and Eli’s attempted break-in of Boggo Road Gaol.

We also get our first glimpse of Australian screen legends Deborah Mailman and Bryan Brown in their roles as counsellor Poppy Birkbeck and criminal-turned-babysitter Slim Halliday, respectively. Meanwhile, the new Boy Swallows Universe trailer still only vaguely hints towards the magic realism elements that play a major role in making the source material so compelling.

Boy Swallows Universe is an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s award-winning 2018 novel of the same name. It’s the story of a boy trying to understand a world with a mute brother and a family with deep ties to the criminal underworld and all the dangers that spring therefrom. The book is described as semi-autobiographical, chronicling a fictionalized version of Dalton’s childhood and youth in Brisbane through the 1980s.

The series is set to debut on Netflix on January 11, 2024, comprising of eight episodes in total.


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Damien Lawardorn
Editor and Contributor of The Escapist: Damien Lawardorn has been writing about video games since 2010, including a 1.5 year period as Editor-in-Chief of Only Single Player. He’s also an emerging fiction writer, with a Bachelor of Arts with Media & Writing and English majors. His coverage ranges from news to feature interviews to analysis of video games, literature, and sometimes wider industry trends and other media. His particular interest lies in narrative, so it should come as little surprise that his favorite genres include adventures and RPGs, though he’ll readily dabble in anything that sounds interesting.