Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, and Madelyn Cline are heading into dangerous waters with Day Drinker, an upcoming thriller that initially appeared to be a stylish story about yachts, criminals, and a mysterious stranger but increasingly looks like it has something much stranger hiding beneath the surface. Directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Zach Dean, the film follows private-yacht bartender Lorna after she encounters Kelly, an enigmatic passenger whose arrival eventually pulls both of them into the orbit of a dangerous criminal figure named Cara. Lionsgate has scheduled the film for a wide theatrical release on March 26, 2027.
The first official teaser, released in September 2026, finally provided a much clearer idea of what audiences should expect. Rather than presenting Day Drinker as a straightforward action thriller, the footage mixes crime, revenge, mystery, unsettling imagery, and hints of something potentially supernatural. Depp appears almost unrecognizable as the silver-haired Kelly, while Cruz occupies a threatening position within the criminal side of the story and Cline’s Lorna appears caught between the two. The teaser deliberately refuses to explain exactly what is happening, making the mystery surrounding Kelly one of the film’s most intriguing elements.
Day Drinker – Official Trailer
What Is Day Drinker About?
The official premise remains intentionally brief. Lorna is a bartender working aboard a private yacht when she encounters Kelly, a mysterious passenger who has a habit of drinking during the day. Their meeting eventually brings them into contact with Cara, a dangerous criminal figure, and the three discover connections that none of them expected.
That description sounds like the foundation for a Mediterranean crime thriller, but the film’s marketing suggests the actual story is considerably stranger. The teaser frames Kelly as someone with an unusual past and places considerable emphasis on revenge, identity, and the possibility that the events surrounding these characters cannot be explained entirely through conventional crime.
Earlier descriptions of Zach Dean’s project also associated the story with love, friendship, and revenge, suggesting that the relationship between Kelly and Lorna could become just as important as the criminal conspiracy surrounding them. The coastal and luxury-yacht setting gives the movie an unusually glamorous backdrop for what appears to become an increasingly dark story.
Exactly how Penélope Cruz’s Cara fits into that mystery is being deliberately protected before release, and that is probably information worth leaving undiscovered until the movie arrives.
Is Day Drinker a Supernatural Movie?
This has become one of the most interesting questions surrounding Day Drinker.
The project has been described as a supernatural revenge thriller, while its official teaser goes noticeably further than the simple crime-oriented synopsis. Kelly openly questions what kind of story he is part of, raising revenge and even the possibility of a ghost story while the footage maintains an eerie atmosphere around him.
That does not confirm what Kelly actually is, nor does it establish precisely how supernatural the finished movie will become. The marketing may be intentionally playing with audience expectations, and Lionsgate’s official synopsis continues to avoid explaining the mystery.
There are already online theories attempting to identify Kelly’s true nature, but none should currently be treated as confirmed. What can safely be said is that Day Drinker appears to contain more than the ordinary criminal-underworld story suggested by its basic premise. The supernatural question has become part of the film’s marketing rather than something audiences have inferred solely from rumors.
Johnny Depp as Kelly
Johnny Depp stars as Kelly, the mysterious passenger whose meeting with Lorna sets the story in motion.
The first footage immediately attracted attention because Depp looks substantially different from his usual appearance. Kelly has long silver-grey hair, a heavy beard, and striking eyes, giving him an appearance that reinforces the uncertainty surrounding who—or perhaps what—he really is.
More importantly, the teaser presents Kelly as unpredictable. He can appear charming and strangely amusing before becoming intimidating, and his dialogue repeatedly suggests that his history is much larger than Lorna initially understands.
That ambiguity seems central to the character. Rather than immediately presenting Kelly as a conventional hero or villain, the film appears interested in keeping audiences uncertain about his motives and his connection to the events unfolding around him.
Madelyn Cline as Lorna
Madelyn Cline plays Lorna, the private-yacht bartender at the center of the official premise.
Lorna’s relatively ordinary position provides an effective entry point into the movie’s stranger world. She is working aboard a luxury vessel when Kelly appears, and what begins as an encounter between bartender and passenger eventually leads her into a much more dangerous situation involving Cara and the criminal underworld.
Cline is particularly important because the story is not simply being framed around Depp’s mysterious stranger. The official synopsis specifically establishes Lorna as the bartender whose encounter initiates the narrative, suggesting that understanding her connection to Kelly will be one of the movie’s central mysteries.
The teaser also makes their chemistry an important part of the setup. Whatever Kelly is hiding, Lorna appears destined to become deeply involved rather than merely serving as an observer to his story.
Penélope Cruz as Cara
Penélope Cruz plays the movie’s major criminal figure, Cara, placing her directly opposite the unusual partnership developing between Kelly and Lorna.
Official descriptions deliberately reveal very little about Cara beyond her involvement in the criminal world, but the casting creates an interesting dynamic. Cruz does not appear to be playing a peripheral antagonist inserted simply to give the protagonists someone to escape from. The official synopsis emphasizes that all three characters are connected in unexpected ways, implying that Cara’s relationship with Kelly and Lorna reaches beyond a random criminal encounter.
That hidden connection may ultimately be one of the film’s largest revelations, so it makes sense that the marketing has avoided explaining it.
Cruz also brings considerable history with Depp to the project. Day Drinker is their fourth feature film together, following Blow, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Murder on the Orient Express.
Day Drinker Cast and Characters
The three central roles are supported by a largely international ensemble:
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Johnny Depp as Kelly
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Madelyn Cline as Lorna
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Penélope Cruz as Cara
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Manu Ríos
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Arón Piper
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Juan Diego Botto
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Anika Boyle
Manu Ríos, Arón Piper, Juan Diego Botto, and Anika Boyle were announced as additions to the production in April 2025. The identities and importance of several supporting characters are still being kept under wraps, which fits the unusually secretive approach surrounding the story.
The combination of Depp, Cruz, and Cline is clearly the centerpiece of the marketing, but the presence of actors from Spain and elsewhere also complements a production whose story and filming are heavily connected to Mediterranean Europe.
Who Is Directing Day Drinker?
Day Drinker is directed by Marc Webb, whose career has moved between intimate character-driven stories and large-scale studio productions.
Webb is widely associated with (500) Days of Summer and The Amazing Spider-Man films, giving him experience with both relationship-focused storytelling and effects-heavy commercial filmmaking. That combination could prove particularly suitable for a movie attempting to balance an unusual relationship between strangers with crime, action, revenge, and supernatural mystery.
The screenplay comes from Zach Dean, whose previous screenwriting credits include The Tomorrow War and Fast X. Dean is also among the film’s producers.
The producing team includes Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, both closely associated with the John Wick franchise, alongside Adam Kolbrenner, Zach Dean, and Nathan Kahane.
Production and Filming
Principal photography began on April 14, 2025, with production taking place extensively in Spain. Tenerife in the Canary Islands became one of the most prominent locations, including filming around the Auditorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz.
The choice of Spain is particularly appropriate for a story built around private yachts, wealthy clientele, coastal locations, and criminal intrigue. Rather than creating the entire Mediterranean atmosphere through studio environments, the production was able to use real coastal architecture and landscapes.
Filming continued through 2025 and had wrapped by October. The extended production period gave the movie plenty of time to move into post-production ahead of its eventual March 2027 release.
Javier Aguirresarobe serves as cinematographer, while Doc Crotzer is credited as editor. Current production information lists Thunder Road among the companies involved with the film.
The First Day Drinker Trailer Changes What We Know
The first official Day Drinker teaser arrived in September 2026, and it substantially changed the conversation surrounding the film.
Before the footage appeared, most publicly available information consisted of the yacht-bartender premise, casting announcements, production details, and descriptions of the movie as an action or supernatural revenge thriller. The teaser finally demonstrated how those apparently different genres may fit together.
The atmosphere is noticeably darker than the glamorous setting might suggest. Kelly is presented as an eccentric and potentially dangerous stranger, criminal violence intrudes on the luxury surroundings, and the dialogue repeatedly encourages viewers to question whether the story has a supernatural explanation.
Most importantly, the trailer does not give the mystery away. Instead of explaining Kelly, it makes him even harder to understand.
That is probably the strongest marketing decision Lionsgate could have made. Day Drinker becomes much more interesting when audiences know that something unusual is happening without being told exactly what that something is.
Is Day Drinker a Horror Movie?
There is currently some variation in how Day Drinker is categorized.
Lionsgate and entertainment reporting have used descriptions including action thriller and supernatural revenge thriller, while Rotten Tomatoes currently categorizes the film under Horror, Mystery & Thriller.
The teaser supports at least some horror influence. Its ominous atmosphere, supernatural suggestions, mysterious protagonist, and references to a possible ghost story clearly push the movie beyond a conventional action-crime thriller.
However, audiences expecting a straightforward horror film should probably wait for additional footage before assuming exactly how far the movie goes in that direction. At present, the safest description is a supernatural revenge thriller incorporating crime, mystery, action, and horror elements.
Why Day Drinker Could Be More Than a Standard Crime Thriller
The most promising element of Day Drinker is the collision of genres.
At its simplest, the movie could have been a stylish thriller about a bartender meeting the wrong passenger aboard a luxury yacht and becoming trapped in a criminal conspiracy. That premise alone could work, particularly with Mediterranean locations and a cast led by Depp, Cline, and Cruz.
But everything revealed since suggests that Marc Webb and Zach Dean are attempting something stranger. Kelly’s identity is being treated as a mystery, revenge appears central to his history, the relationship between the three leads contains unexplained connections, and the supernatural element remains deliberately unresolved.
That uncertainty gives the film an identity of its own. Audiences are not simply waiting to discover whether Kelly and Lorna can escape Cara’s criminal world; they are waiting to discover what kind of story they have actually entered.
When Does Day Drinker Release?
Day Drinker is scheduled to open theatrically on March 26, 2027.
Lionsgate now lists that date officially, confirming the movie as one of its major theatrical releases for early 2027.
The date was announced in May 2026 and places the movie in a release slot that had previously been occupied by The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One before that film moved elsewhere on Lionsgate’s calendar.
International distribution arrangements have also been developing separately, including deals covering markets such as Italy and Spain.
Is Day Drinker Worth Watching?
There is not enough information yet to judge the finished movie, particularly because its biggest mystery is intentionally being protected. However, Day Drinker has several ingredients that make it worth following ahead of release.
The most obvious is its cast. Depp and Cruz already have an established screen history, while Cline gives the film a younger central character through whom audiences can encounter Kelly’s strange world. Marc Webb is also an interesting choice for material combining personal relationships with larger thriller elements.
More importantly, the first teaser suggests that the movie is not content with being a conventional criminal-underworld thriller. Its mixture of Mediterranean glamour, revenge, danger, supernatural ambiguity, and a protagonist whose identity remains deliberately unclear gives it a distinctive hook.
The real question is whether the finished film can turn those mysteries into satisfying answers without losing the atmosphere that currently makes them so intriguing.
Why Should You Watch Day Drinker?
Viewers who enjoy movies that deliberately blur genre boundaries should keep Day Drinker on their radar. The movie combines the foundations of a crime thriller with mystery, action, revenge, potential horror, and supernatural elements while keeping its central relationship deliberately difficult to define.
It also represents a significant theatrical project for Johnny Depp, placing him at the center of a major studio thriller alongside two very different co-stars. Penélope Cruz brings considerable dramatic weight and an established chemistry with Depp, while Madelyn Cline appears positioned as much more than simply another supporting character.
Perhaps the strongest reason to watch, however, is curiosity. The marketing has revealed enough to establish that Kelly is hiding something significant without explaining exactly what it is. In an era when trailers frequently disclose too much, Day Drinker currently has the advantage of still possessing a genuine mystery.
Reception and Early Response
Because Day Drinker will not be released until March 2027, there are currently no verified critic review scores for the finished film. Rotten Tomatoes has a page for the movie but does not yet display a Tomatometer or audience score.
Most discussion at this stage therefore concerns the teaser, Depp’s transformation, the reunion between Depp and Cruz, and speculation surrounding the film’s supernatural component. The first footage has particularly drawn attention to Depp’s silver-haired appearance and the strange tone created around Kelly.
It will be more useful to evaluate the film’s critical reception once reviews from established publications begin appearing closer to release.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Day Drinker about?
Day Drinker follows private-yacht bartender Lorna after she encounters a mysterious passenger named Kelly. The two subsequently become entangled with a criminal figure named Cara and discover unexpected connections between their lives.
When does Day Drinker come out?
The movie is scheduled for theatrical release on March 26, 2027.
Who plays Kelly in Day Drinker?
Johnny Depp plays Kelly, the mysterious day drinker at the center of the film.
Who does Madelyn Cline play?
Madelyn Cline plays Lorna, a bartender working aboard a private yacht.
Who does Penélope Cruz play?
Penélope Cruz plays Cara, a criminal figure whose connection to Kelly and Lorna is an important part of the movie’s mystery.
Is Day Drinker supernatural?
The movie has been described as a supernatural revenge thriller, and the first teaser deliberately hints that something beyond a conventional crime story may be happening. Exactly what the supernatural component involves has not been officially explained.
Is Day Drinker a vampire movie?
There is no reliable confirmation that Day Drinker is specifically a vampire movie. The teaser encourages speculation about Kelly’s identity, but audiences should treat theories about the precise supernatural twist as theories unless Lionsgate or the filmmakers confirm them.
Is Day Drinker a horror movie?
The film contains horror and supernatural elements, and Rotten Tomatoes currently classifies it as Horror/Mystery & Thriller. Other official and industry descriptions call it an action thriller or supernatural revenge thriller.
Who directed Day Drinker?
Marc Webb directed the movie from a screenplay by Zach Dean.
Where was Day Drinker filmed?
Production took place primarily in Spain, including Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
Is there a Day Drinker trailer?
Yes. The first official teaser was released by Lionsgate in September 2026.
Have Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz worked together before?
Yes. Day Drinker is their fourth movie together following Blow, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and Murder on the Orient Express.
Conclusion
Day Drinker has become considerably more intriguing now that its first footage has revealed what the initial synopsis was carefully hiding. On the surface, this is a thriller about a private-yacht bartender who encounters an unusual passenger and becomes tangled in the world of a dangerous criminal. Underneath that premise, however, Marc Webb’s film appears to be playing with revenge, identity, unexplained connections, horror, and a supernatural mystery surrounding Johnny Depp’s Kelly.
The cast gives that mystery an especially interesting foundation. Madelyn Cline’s Lorna provides the audience’s route into this increasingly strange situation, Penélope Cruz’s Cara brings the criminal threat, and Depp occupies the uncertain territory between charismatic stranger and something potentially much darker. Their hidden connection remains one of the most important pieces Lionsgate has wisely chosen not to reveal.
There is still plenty we do not know, including the exact nature of the supernatural element and Kelly’s real story. That uncertainty works in the film’s favor. Rather than revealing its biggest twist months before release, Day Drinker is asking audiences to wonder whether they are watching a crime story, a revenge story, a horror story, or something that combines all three. We will find out when Day Drinker arrives in theaters on March 26, 2027.
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