The influence of John Wick has been seen all across cinema with new films channeling the action and grittiness of the Keanu Reeves-led franchise, and Monkey Man looks to be the latest to follow suit. It can be seen in the first trailer for Dev Patel's directorial debut which sees the actor fight his way through India's seedy underbelly in a bloody and violent quest for revenge.

Universal Pictures released the first trailer for Monkey Man on Friday, giving audiences a first look at what awaits them in the upcoming action film set in India. The trailer teases the story of Patel's Kid, a well-trained ex-con, as he seeks revenge against the people responsible for the destruction of his village and death of his mother when he was a child.

The film's title and themes hinted at in the trailer appear to loosely be inspired by the Hindu god Hanuman. In Hindu mythology, Hanuman was a monkey god that commanded an army of white monkeys and was a loyal companion to the Hindu god Rama.

Along with the film being Patel's feature directorial debut and starring in it, Monkey Man was written and produced by the English actor.

Patel will be joined in the film by a who's-who of Bollywood stars, though some have experience in Hollywood features, as well, such as Pitobash Tripathy. Outside of Patel, the most recognizable face to most Western audience will be Sharlto Copley as the apparent head of an underground fight ring. 

The worldwide rights to Monkey Man were originally bought by Netflix, which appeared excited to have the film the platform called “John Wick in Mumbai.” However, the rights would eventually be bought by Jordan Peele's production company, Monkeypaw Productions, after Peele saw the film and wanted to guarantee it got a theatrical release.

Monkey Man is scheduled to release in theaters on April 5, 2024.