‘Marty Supreme’ Serves a Wild First Look: Timothée Chalamet Chases Ping-Pong Glory in Josh Safdie’s High-Voltage Sports Drama

The neon-lit, sweat-slick world of mid-century table tennis explodes to life in the new trailer for Marty Supreme, writer-director Josh Safdie’s solo return to the big screen. Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a 1950s New Yorker who turns a “parlor game” into a holy quest for greatness—no matter the cost. The film opens December 25, 2025 in theaters.

Trailer Highlights: Speed, Swagger, and a Dream No One Respects

The footage is all velocity and attitude: close-quarters volleys that sound like snare hits, smoky clubs doubling as arenas, and a protagonist who treats the green felt as a stage for reinvention. Chalamet’s Marty needles skeptics, taunts rivals, and courts danger with a grin—somewhere between showman and street hustler. The clips tease combustible family dynamics, late-night hustles, and the dawning realization that the same obsession that lifts Marty might swallow him whole.

Cast of ‘Marty Supreme’: A Killer Ensemble Around Chalamet

Safdie stacks the bench with scene-stealers. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Kay Stone, whose allure and agency complicate Marty’s rise. Odessa A’zion and Kevin O’Leary (as power broker Milton Rockwell) push on different parts of Marty’s ambition. Tyler Okonma (Tyler, the Creator) makes a splash as Wally, a sharp-eyed foil in Marty’s orbit. Indie legend Abel Ferrara and Fran Drescher appear as Marty’s combustible parents, while cameos from athletes and downtown icons deepen the film’s lived-in texture.

Key creative team

• Director/Co-writer: Josh Safdie (with Ronald Bronstein)

• Cinematography: Darius Khondji, shooting on 35mm for grainy, tactile punch

• Music: Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never), bending period tones into jittery, propulsive cues

• Runtime: about 2 hours 29 minutes

What ‘Marty Supreme’ Is About (Without Spoilers)

At heart, Marty Supreme is a rise-and-reckoning sports story with Safdie’s signature street-level tension. Marty Mauser is a Lower East Side striver who sees ping-pong not as pastime but pathway—out of small rooms, out of doubt, and into a version of himself the world can’t ignore. The battlegrounds are eclectic: basement halls, Catskills resorts, back-room money games, and glitzy showcases where reputation is currency and one misread spin can end a career.

Style & Sound: Why This Looks Different From Other Sports Films

Safdie shoots table tennis like a contact sport. The camera hugs the table edge, then whips to track impossible angles, turning spin into story. Khondji’s lighting swings from nicotine haze to crystalline spotlight, while Lopatin’s score braids big-band accents with electronic unease—nostalgia and nerviness in the same breath. The effect: a period piece that feels dangerously present.

Chalamet’s Pivot: Charisma Weaponized

For Timothée Chalamet, Marty is a showboat with a fragile center—equal parts hustler, romantic, and zealot. The performance leans on agility more than bulk; watch the footwork, the micro-beats between serve and smash, the way attention itself becomes oxygen. It’s the kind of role that lets him be both matinee idol and character actor.

Why ‘Marty Supreme’ Matters for Josh Safdie

After a run of blistering collaborations, Safdie’s first solo feature in years scales up without sanding off the nerve. The movie threads his favorite needles—hustle economies, family pressure cookers, New York folklore—into a crowd-pleasing sports chassis. Expect the thrill of competition to collide with the cost of obsession, a Safdie specialty.

Release Plans and Awards Temperature

• U.S. theatrical release: December 25, 2025 (wide)

• Genre: Sports comedy-drama

• Distributor: A24

The Christmas berth positions Marty Supreme squarely in awards season. Early chatter centers on Chalamet’s star turn, the crackling ensemble, and below-the-line craft (score, cinematography, production design) that gives 1950s New York a bruised, brassy shine.

Quick Guide: ‘Marty Supreme’ at a Glance

• Title: Marty Supreme

• Setting: New York City, 1950s

• Lead: Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser

• Also starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Kevin O’Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher

• Creative: Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein (writers); Darius Khondji (DP); Daniel Lopatin (music)

• Tone: Kinetic, funny, anxious—a swaggering sports saga with street-corner stakes

• The hook: A “low” sport filmed like high drama, where every spin carries risk, ego, and the price of being seen

Marty Supreme turns ping-pong into a pressure-cooker epic and gives Chalamet a swaggering showcase. If the trailer’s crackle holds, Christmas week audiences are in for a high-spin, high-stakes original with real bite.