‘Ford V Ferrari’ First Look: Christian Bale & Matt Damon Revolutionize Racing In James Mangold’s Awards Contender

Sure, the summer blockbuster movie season has just begun and the next few months of our lives are filled with action spectacle films and superheroes. But it’s never too early to look past those behemoths and talk about awards season. And one of the films that is getting a lot of early awards buzz is none other than the upcoming “Ford v. Ferrari.”

And to kick off the marketing campaign for this new film, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon, as British racer Ken Miles and American car designer Carroll Shelby, respectively, EW got a few first look images and spoke with the folks involved in the film.

“This is David vs. Goliath vs. Goliath,” said Bale. “You’ve got the industrial Goliath with Ford and the charismatic Goliath of reputation with Ferrari, and then this true story of the triumph of the misfits.”

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The period racing drama follows the events of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France, as Miles teams up with Ford designer Shelby to create a revolutionary car that would somehow be able to compete with the dominant carmaker, Ferrari.

Filmmaker James Mangold describes his new film as “Butch and Sundance in the world of racing,” and said, “This is much more of a relationship movie and less a historical document.”

Mangold also talked about how he wanted to bring realism to the racing scenes that many modern films just don’t have, thanks to the advent of incredible CGI. “I wanted to see a racing film where the cars weren’t all digital creations [and] we were really out there on the track,” said the filmmaker. “And not just so we could talk about it when we’re doing press, but because it actually makes a physical difference when you see it on screen.”

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Joining Bale and Damon in the cast are Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, and Jon Bernthal. The film is written and directed by James Mangold, whose most recent film, “Logan,” earned the filmmaker an Oscar nomination.

“Ford v. Ferrari” will hit theaters on November 15.

Here are the first-look pictures: