Netflix’s Ripley seems ready to salt and burn the Earth in new trailer

Whether it’s from reading Patricia Highsmith’s original 1955 novel, or seeing any of the films inspired by it, we’re all familiar with at least some of the beats from The Talented Mr. Ripley. But even if you’ve been a fan of all the past Ripley adaptations, Netflix’s new series from writer / director Steven Zaillian looks like it’s going to be something inspired.

Set in 1960s New York City, and cities across Italy, Ripley tells the tale of Tom (Andrew Scott), a talented and cunning man whose relatively ordinary life starts to take a turn when he meets the father of Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), a wealthy playboy who has run off to Europe with his good friend Marge (Dakota Fanning). Though The Talented Mr. Ripley focuses on how Tom gradually starts to insert himself into Dickie’s life after being sent on a mission to bring him home, Ripley’s first trailer puts all its emphasis on just how many detectives are busy searching for Tom himself.

If you know the classic Ripley story, the trailer’s artful, black-and-white shots of Tom altering a passport, greeting Italian detectives at his door, and standing up on a small boat in the middle of the ocean will all speak volumes about the many twists and turns the show’s going to take. What the trailer leaves you to guess, though, is whether Scott’s Ripley is always going to give off that very obvious “I’m not to be trusted” vibe for the whole season, or if he’s actually going to turn on the charm at some point when Ripley debuts on April 4th.