Los Angeles, Sep 17 (IANS): The first trailer for filmmaker Guillermo del Toro's psychological thriller 'Nightmare Alley' starring Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett has dropped.

The film, which will hit the screens onA December 17, follows the story of Stan Carlisle played by Cooper, an ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words, as he meets Dr. Lilith Ritter essayed by Blanchett, a psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is.

The cast also features Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, Rooney Mara, Holt McCallany, Tim Blake Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, David Strathairn and Clifton Collins Jr, reports variety.com.

Others who will appear in the film include Jim Beaver, Mark Povinelli and David Hewlett and Paul Anderson.

Based on William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel of the same name, 'Nightmare Alley' marks a departure for the 'Shape of Water' director, as it contains no "supernatural" elements.

"Now is the first chance I have to do a real underbelly of society type of movie," del Toro told Collider in 2019.

He added then: "(There are) no supernatural elements. Just a straight, really dark story."

The director had also confirmed that the film is very R-rated.

The movie is written by del Toro and Kim Morgan, and distributed by Searchlight Pictures.

J. Miles Dale produces with del Toro, whose usual collaborators Luis Sequeira and Dan Laustsen are the costume designer and cinematographer, respectively.