See Metallica’s James Hetfield get into a firefight in trailer for western thriller The Thicket

James Hetfield in The Thicket, firing a pistol
(Image credit: Tubi via Youtube)

Metallica singer/guitarist James Hetfield appears in the new trailer for The Thicket.

The preview of the Tubi Original film was released yesterday (July 23).

Hetfield appears as a sheriff in the western thriller and is briefly seen firing a revolver.

Watch the trailer below.

The Thicket, starring and produced by Game Of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, will come out on September 6.

As well as Hetfield and Dinklage, the film will feature actors Juliette Lewis, Esmé Creed-Miles, Levon Hawke, Leslie Grace and Gbenga Akinnagbe.

The project is directed by Elliott Lester (Nightingale) and written by playwright Christopher Kelly.

The official synopsis reads: “When fierce bounty hunter Reginald Jones (Peter Dinklage) is recruited by a desperate man to track down a ruthless killer known only as Cutthroat Bill (Juliette Lewis), he rallies a band of unlikely heroes including a grave-digging ex-slave and a street-smart woman-for-hire.

“Together they embark on a perilous quest to track down Cutthroat Bill that leads them into the deadly ‘no-man’s-land’ known as…The Thicket.”

The first photos of Hetfield in his as-yet-unnamed role were published on social media last month.

The singer/guitarist has appeared as himself in numerous films, including 2004 Metallica documentary Some Kind Of Monster and 2006 comedy The Darwin Awards.

He first acted onscreen in 2019 with Ted Bundy biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile. Hetfield portrayed a police officer in several scenes with Zac Efron, who played Bundy.

Extremely Wicked… was directed by Some Kind Of Monster co-director Joe Berlinger.

Efron said of Hetfield’s acting chops in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel: “James Hetfield, to his credit, absolutely nailed the part, he just crushed it.

“It’s like he’s been acting his own life. He had no fear. He did a great job.

“I was ready to maybe give James Hetfield [an acting] tip, but he didn’t ask for a single one. James Hetfield is the shit.”

Away from the silver screen, Hetfield continues to perform with Metallica.

The metal titans will embark on a headline tour of North and Central America next month. See the list of dates below.

The Thicket | Official Trailer | A Tubi Original - YouTube The Thicket | Official Trailer | A Tubi Original - YouTube
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Metallica 2024 tour dates:

Aug 02: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 04: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 09: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 11: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 16: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 18: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 23: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 25: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 30: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 01: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 20: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 22: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 27: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 29: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico

Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.