Jason Segel becomes David Foster Wallace alongside Jesse Eisenberg in 'The End of the Tour' trailer

Like many comedic actors before him, Jason Segel now heads into dramatic territory. Starring alongside Jesse Eisenberg, he plays the late author David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour, James Ponsoldt's (The Spectacular Now) latest. Amid its July release, A24 unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming biopic.

The promo, found here, primarily focuses on the buddy relationship Wallace and Eisenberg's Rolling Stone journalist form in the midst of their travels. Unlike most trailers, most of the emotional pull is wisely saved for the eventual film, so as to let some of the more loud moments come out but mostly focus on the subdued friendship blossomed throughout this dramedy. This first trailer does a fine job establishing Wallace as a guy who struggles with the legacy people try to build around him, afraid he may not live up to the expectations of brilliance they believe he holds.

While it's hard to completely separate the actor from the performance just from this initial footage, Segel does an impeccable job encapsulating the speech patterns and physical nuances of his real-life figure. Both Ponsoldt and Segel look as though they want to create a sensitive yet significant picture of the author who took his life seven years ago, and based on reviews out of Sundance at the beginning of this year, they may very well have a potential Oscar contender in their hands.

A24 acquired The End of the Tour before it even made its official world premiere. Although original plans were to release the movie this fall, in March it was announced the film would come first in limited release on July 31. There's been no announcement of a wider release at this time.

Check out the trailer below:


Image courtesy of Nancy Rivera/ACE/INFphoto.com

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