The first trailer for Paramount’s entry in the jam-packed Christmas Day box office extravaganza, The Big Short, has finally hit the web. While it’s directed by Adam McKay, the film is swinging for taller fences than just laughs, thanks to an all-star cast lead by Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt.


image: Jaap Buitendijk/Paramount

In the film, these three Oscar nominees (Pitt, Carell and Gosling) and one Oscar winner (Bale) play outsiders who start noticing something strange within the financial world. The housing bubble is about to explode. They come up with a crazy investment idea that surprises everyone.

The film is based on the nonfiction book of the same name, which was written by Michael Lewis. If that name sounds familiar, it should. He also wrote the books that inspired Moneyball and The Blind Side. The script was written by McKay and Charles Randolph.

It will be interesting to see how McKay handles a film like this, since most of his directing resume is filled with comedies starring Will Ferrell. Based on the trailer though, it looks like he can handle this group of powerful actors.

The Big Short hits theaters on Dec. 23, but also gets a limited release on Dec. 11.