The trailer for one of Bruce Willis’ final film appearances has been released ahead of the film hitting cinemas next year.
Bruce, 67, announced he would be ‘stepping away’ from his acting career in March after revealing he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that leaves people having difficulty with their speech.
He will be reprising his role in the Detective Knight franchise – which has already seen two movies released this year – in which he stars as Detective James Knight.
The upcoming third movie, subtitled Independence, sees Bruce’s character hot on the trail of a vigilante emergency medical technician who is supposedly impersonating a police officer planning to go on a bloody rampage on Independence Day.
Detective Knight: Independence’s trailer begins with the gunman opening fire on a Los Angeles crowd before he is shot and killed by Bruce’s character.
He is then seen being quizzed by a superior female officer, who asks him: ‘What do you think makes a good cop?’
Bruce’s character replies that ‘a good cop doesn’t sleep well so everyone else can,’ as clips of him practicing his boxing skills appear on screen.
We are then introduced to another criminal – played by Val Kilmer’s son Jack – who is seen putting on a police officer’s uniform and arming himself.
His girlfriend, played by Hunger Games star Willow Shields – says ‘most cops are good,’ in another scene, with Jack’s character replying: ‘Cops are our enemies.’
He is proven to be a fake cop when he shoots a group of men instead of arresting them, with his voice heard saying: ‘You said you wanted a real way to make change. This is our chance.’
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is a condition that impacts a person’s language skills.
This means it can cause trouble with:
- reading
- writing
- listening
- speaking
According to the NHS, it usually starts due to damage to the left side of the brain after something like, for example, a serious head injury or a stroke.
Perhaps most noticeably, people who have aphasia might have problems speaking, such as by possibly mistakenly using certain words, using the wrong sounds, or using words in the wrong order.
It does not impact a person’s intelligence, but it can emerge both by itself or alongside other health issues like mobility problems and issues with memory.
Find out more about the condition here.
Detective Knight is informed that ‘someone stole a uniform, a badge, gun’ in a conference, before a montage shows Jack’s character terrorising LA.
As Knight arrives on the scene, he is knocked to the floor by a bomb blast, with a final voice saying, ‘We need an angel of justice’ as the trailer comes to a close.
Detective Knight: Independence will be released on VOD and in limited theatrical release on January 20, 2023.
It will be one of the movie icon’s final outings following his retirement. Another movie he has filmed, Die Like Lovers, was originally scheduled for release in September but has been pushed back to an undisclosed date.
Bruce’s family announced he would be stepping away from acting in March, writing in a statement: ‘As a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities.
‘As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.
‘This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.
‘As Bruce always says, “Live it up” and together we plan to do just that,’ the statement signed by his wife Emma, his ex-partner Demi Moore and his children Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn ends.
