Falco Ink and Trafalgar Releasing have released a new trailer for The Optimist, a new movie starring Stephen Lang and Elsie Fisher. The Optimist will release in theaters on March 11, 2026.
“For more than sixty years, children’s store owner Herbert Heller (Lang) has lived with the weight of the horrors he endured as a 15-year-old imprisoned in Terezin and Auschwitz,” reads the film’s official synopsis. “As illness forces him to confront the silence he has kept—even from his own family—he forms a surprising friendship with Abbey (Fisher), a teenager navigating her own emotional fractures. Through their growing connection, Herbert is inspired to finally share his truth, opening a path toward empathy, forgiveness, and renewal.
Check out The Optimist trailer below (watch other trailers):
What happens in The Optimist trailer?
The Optimist trailer follows the story of Herbert, a children’s store owner and Holocaust survivor. While he struggles to confront the past he’s dealt with, he forms a friendship with Abbey, a teenager also navigating their own issues.
Alongside Lang, The Optimist also stars Elsie Fisher, best known for her breakout role in Eighth Grade. The pair are also joined by Luke David Blumm, Leah Pipes, Ben Geurens, Ursula Parker, Slavko Sobin, Stella Stocker, Oskar Hes, and Robin Weigert. The Optimist is written and directed by Finn Taylor.
Lang was most recently seen in 2025’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, where he reprises his role as Colonel Miles Quaritch. He also starred in the sequel film Sisu: Road to Revenge, a sequel to 2022’s Sisu. Lang will next appear in 2026’s Hellfire, as well as the upcoming Gettysburg 1863. Since her role in Eighth Grade, Fisher has appeared in a litany of films, most recently 2025’s Tow. She’ll next appear in Latchkey Kids and Hypergalactic.
