Thriller movie Wild Horse Nine, CIA agents on the island with Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich

Wild Horse Nine, the movie’s plot

Wild Horse Nine is the drama and thriller movie coming out. The plot is set just before the 1973 Chilean coup: CIA agents Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell) are sent from Santiago to Easter Island by their boss, MJ (Steve Buscemi).

Among the iconic statues of the island, and while the two colleagues confront their pasts and current conspiracies, Chris’s new bond with two rebellious students (Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas) risks derailing everyone’s vacation.

“I’ve killed people in countries you don’t even know the name of” Chris says to Lee on a plane, in the released trailer. “Can we try not to stand out too much while we’re here?” Lee asks him, while they are on the island. “Girls, what do you think of your new president?” Chris asks the two girls, in a bar; “everyone likes him” one of the two answers; “not everyone” he intervenes.

Scenes of chases then alternate. “Is that why you shot at a car last night” Lee asks; “did someone say I shot at a car last night?” Chris responds.

Wild Horse Nine, the movie’s cast

John Malkovich has worked in Seneca - On the Creation of Earthquakes, Savage Salvation, and in Fool’s Paradise. Sam Rockwell has recently acted in Argylle, IF, and See How They Run: for his role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri he received the Oscar nomination.

The cast is completed by Steve Buscemi, in the role of a high-ranking CIA official who is in Chile - Parker Posey, performer in Thelma and the new episodes of The White Lotus; Tom Waits, recently seen in Father Mother Sister Brother and Licorice Pizza. The direction is by Martin McDonagh, who directed The Banshees of Inisherin and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: the movie won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and for the performance actress Frances McDormand - as lead actress - and Sam Rockwell - as supporting actor - won the Oscar.

Wild Horse Nine, the filming and the movie’s release date

The production is by Blueprint Pictures, Film4 and Searchlight Pictures. Principal photography began in March 2025 in Rapa Nui, and in April in a rayuela venue in Conchalí, at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and in downtown Santiago: initially Buscemi’s role was to be played by Mark Ruffalo. Rapa Nui is the indigenous name of Easter Island, in the Indian Ocean: it is a Chilean wildlife protected area 3,700 kilometers from the country’s coast, and is the most remote inhabited island on Earth. The movie is released in U.S. theaters on November 6, 2026.