Nas And A$AP Rocky Appear In First Trailer For Netflix Drama ‘Monster’

Nas also serves as an executive producer for Monster.

The first trailer for the upcoming Netflix drama Monster has been released. The two minute long video sets the scene for Steve Harmon (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), a 17-year-old honor student from Harlem attending an elite high school as a film student, where, one moment he’s taking pictures of people on the subway and getting a closeup picture of A$AP Rocky (portraying a character named William King), and the next he’s charged with felony murder.

The film, based on the 1999 book of the same name by Walter Dean Myers, will explore Harmon’s journey as he becomes “embroiled in a complex legal battle where he could face life in prison,” according to a press release for the movie. The trailer also includes appearances from Nas (who also serves as the film’s executive producer), Jennifer Hudson and Jeffrey Wright, John David Washington, and others.

Monster originally premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival; Netflix nabbed the rights for the film late last year. The book that the film is based on was nominated for the 1999 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and was named a Coretta Scott King Award Honor in 2000. Myers passed away at age 76 in 2014.

The late author had shared how impactful reading was on his life, stating on his website: “Reading pushed me to discover worlds beyond my landscape, especially during dark times when my uncle was murdered and my family became dysfunctional with alcohol and grief.”

The film is scheduled to be released on Netflix on May 7, 2021.