‘When You Finish Saving The World’ Debuts a Trailer and 2023 Release Date

Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) stepped behind the camera to make his feature film directorial debut with When You Finish Saving The World. The official trailer for the dramedy finds Oscar winner Julianne Moore (Still Alice) attempting to connect with her teen son who’s a burgeoning social media star, played by Stranger ThingsFinn Wolfhard.

The cast also includes 13 Reasons Why‘s Alisha Boe and Blindspot‘s Jay O. Sanders.

When You Finish Saving The World is based on Eisenberg’s Audible series of the same name. Eisenberg originally planned to make the series into a play but decided that film was a better fit. In a recent interview with IndieWire, Eisenberg (recently seen in FX’s Fleishman Is In Trouble) explained how making his directorial debut affected his acting.

“Normally as an actor on set I’m a ball of anxiety, and partly that has to do with the fact that I shelter myself so much. I don’t watch dailies, I don’t watch the movie, I don’t ask anybody how I’m doing because I’m panicked that I’m not doing well. And having directed a movie, just kind of relieving myself and puncturing the mystique of the whole process of it and the artifice of it allows me to think about it in more practical terms. So maybe I wish I would have done that sooner,” said Eisenberg.

When You Finish Saving The World premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. A24’s set a January 20, 2023 theatrical release date.

When You Finish Saving The World
Finn Wolfhard and Julianne Moore star in A24’s ‘When You Finish Saving The World’

The Plot, Courtesy of A24:

Evelyn (Moore) has devoted herself to helping people in hard times, but she struggles to connect with her son Ziggy (Wolfhard), an aspiring internet star oblivious to the problems of the world. As Evelyn attempts to become a parent figure to an unassuming teenager she meets at her shelter, and Ziggy fumbles through his pursuit of a brilliant and politically conscious young woman at his high school, this emotional comedy reveals a funny and sharply perceptive portrait of a mother and son who may seem at odds but who are more alike than either would care to admit.