Before headlines could spread across screens in seconds, newspapers competed for readers with front pages designed to stop people in their tracks. Ink, Danny Boyle’s new Netflix film, revisits one of the defining moments in that transformation: the 1969 reinvention of British newspaper The Sun.
Netflix released the official trailer on November 10, 2026, offering a look at Jack O’Connell as editor Larry Lamb and Guy Pearce as a young Rupert Murdoch. Rather than focusing simply on the creation of a successful newspaper, the film explores how a new editorial formula helped shape modern tabloid journalism.
Audiences will have two opportunities to see the drama. Ink opens in select theaters on December 11, 2026, before arriving on Netflix on January 8, 2027.
Ink follows the newspaper gamble that transformed The Sun in 1969
The story begins in late-1960s London, where Rupert Murdoch is an ambitious Australian businessman looking to establish himself internationally. His opportunity comes through the acquisition of The Sun, a struggling British newspaper in need of a new direction.
Murdoch appoints Larry Lamb as editor and gives him a demanding assignment. The newspaper must find an audience, challenge its established competitors and become a publication that working-class Londoners actively want to read.
For Lamb, that means rethinking what deserves space on the page. Instead of relying on conventional newspaper priorities, his editorial approach brings together grisly crime stories, palace intrigue and nudity. The resulting formula aims to attract readers through subjects that generate curiosity and immediate attention.
The film dramatizes how Murdoch and Lamb launched the transformed Sun in 1969. More importantly, it places their collaboration at the center of a wider change in popular journalism, when the battle for newspaper sales became closely connected to the presentation of news itself.
That distinction gives Ink an interesting historical premise. Its subject is not merely a newspaper changing ownership, but the process of deciding which stories deserve attention and how to present them to a mass audience.
Ink brings Jack O’Connell and Guy Pearce into a newsroom under pressure
At the center of the drama are two figures with different responsibilities. Guy Pearce portrays Rupert Murdoch, whose acquisition creates the opportunity for the newspaper’s transformation. Jack O’Connell plays Larry Lamb, the editor responsible for turning that ambition into a working publication.
Their professional relationship provides the film with its central conflict. Murdoch wants a newspaper capable of competing in a crowded market, while Lamb must develop an editorial identity that distinguishes The Sun from its rivals.
Claire Foy also joins the cast, portraying a composite character inspired by several female reporters who worked at The Sun during that period. This is an important distinction for viewers approaching the movie as a historical drama: her character combines real-world inspirations rather than representing one specific journalist.
Here are the key confirmed facts about the production:
- Film: Ink.
- Director: Danny Boyle.
- Screenwriter: James Graham.
- Original work: Graham’s 2017 stage play Ink, which became a West End and Broadway hit.
- Jack O’Connell: Plays newspaper editor Larry Lamb.
- Guy Pearce: Portrays a young Rupert Murdoch.
- Claire Foy: Plays a composite character based on female journalists from The Sun.
- Cinematographer: Alwin H. Küchler, who previously collaborated with Boyle on Steve Jobs.
- Historical setting: London in the late 1960s.
- Festival debut: Opening film of the 2026 Venice International Film Festival.
Another significant detail is Graham’s involvement. Having written the original play, he also adapted his own material for the screen. Consequently, the film maintains a direct creative connection to the theatrical work while moving its story into a different medium.
The official trailer introduces the struggle for readers and influence
The official Ink trailer released by Netflix introduces the central premise of a newspaper trying to reinvent itself. Its focus is the transformation of The Sun and the people tasked with making that change happen.
The central question is straightforward: how far can a newspaper reshape its identity to attract readers? In the film’s historical setting, that question connects business ambitions with editorial choices and the growing importance of attention-grabbing stories.
Rather than treating the newspaper as a passive backdrop, the premise makes its transformation the driving force of the drama. The relationship between Murdoch and Lamb also provides a way to explore the difference between owning a publication and deciding what appears in it.
For viewers interested in the trailer and the upcoming release, these are the essential points:
- November 10, 2026: Netflix releases the official Ink trailer.
- Story teased: Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of a struggling British newspaper and Larry Lamb’s attempt to reinvent it.
- Central editorial strategy: Combining crime, royal intrigue and provocative material to appeal to working-class readers.
- Main characters: Jack O’Connell’s Larry Lamb and Guy Pearce’s Rupert Murdoch.
- Historical focus: The 1969 transformation of The Sun and the emergence of the modern tabloid.
- Friday, December 11, 2026: Ink opens in select movie theaters.
- Friday, January 8, 2027: Ink arrives on Netflix.
These dates also clarify the viewing options. The theatrical opening comes first, although screenings are limited to selected locations. Netflix subscribers will then be able to watch the film from its announced January release date.
Danny Boyle’s film joins Netflix’s theatrical-first releases
Beyond its historical subject, Ink is also part of a release schedule that gives certain Netflix productions a theatrical debut before their streaming availability. For moviegoers, that makes the distinction between the two dates particularly relevant.
A similar approach appears in David Fincher’s upcoming Cliff Booth film, which receives an IMAX-first release before Netflix. Although the two movies tell very different stories, both provide a cinema option ahead of their streaming premieres.
Meanwhile, Netflix’s early-2027 film schedule also includes The Take, the upcoming heist thriller with a confirmed January 2027 release. Together, these announcements give subscribers several new films to follow across the end of 2026 and the beginning of the following year.
For Ink specifically, the timing creates a short gap between its December theatrical opening and January streaming debut. Viewers interested in seeing Boyle’s interpretation on a movie screen will need to check whether a participating theater is available in their area.
The film also arrives with an established theatrical foundation of its own. James Graham’s play reached audiences in London’s West End and on Broadway before being adapted for cinema. Its opening-night position at the 2026 Venice International Film Festival adds another milestone to that journey from stage to screen.
Ultimately, Ink uses the birth of a modern tabloid to examine a turning point in newspaper history. Its combination of a recognizable historical setting, an established stage screenplay and Boyle’s direction offers a specific perspective on how news became a competitive product. The official trailer is available now, with the film reaching select theaters on December 11 and Netflix on January 8.
Creator of the website, Pokemon trainer by nature. Trying to report on everything related to the world of video games, series and movies. Yu-Gi-Oh is my weakness, collecting cards since the dawn of time.
