The 2026 survival thriller Apex, which premiered on Netflix on April 24, 2026, has captured global attention by blending a high-stakes cat-and-mouse chase with a profound exploration of grief and human endurance. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur and starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton, the film is a masterclass in tension that transforms the Australian wilderness into a relentless antagonist.

Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton Must ‘Hunt or Be Hunted’ in Wild Apex Trailer
The new action thriller set in the Australian Outback is now streaming.Charlize Theron is up a creek with no kayak — and a deadly predator on her trail.

In Apex, the new thriller from director Baltasar Kormákur, Academy Award winner Theron plays Sasha, a grieving woman who faces the perils of the Australian Outback while dodging crossbow bolts from ruthless psychopath Ben (Taron Egerton). You can see a new trailer above, including glimpses of action across cliffs, rapids, and forests.

Read on to learn more about the film.

  “You going it alone?” a local asks Sasha in the trailer. “I wouldn’t recommend it.” To survive, she’ll need all her wits about her. “This is a psychological thriller,” Theron told Netflix. “It’s really a story about survival, not just physically but emotionally. And it’s about finding out what you’re made of.”

“It felt almost existential,” Kormákur told Netflix of Jeremy Robbins’s script. “Through action, through horror, through hardship, you reveal the characters.”

Ben’s side of the story is a little bit different. “In my version of the story, Ben is the hero,” Egerton told Netflix. “Everything has to make sense for him. So part of my job is to craft a spiritual code for him.” Ben doesn’t see himself as a killer; he’s just a hunter looking for his next target.

As Ben initiates a deadly game of cat and mouse, he offers Sasha a head start to get as far away from him as possible before his pump-up music comes to an end. In other words: Hunt or be hunted.