Emma Stone Finds Life Fascinating — and Slaps Mark Ruffalo — in 'Poor Things' Teaser Trailer

Emma Stone is reborn.

On Thursday, Searchlight Pictures released the first teaser trailer for director Yorgos Lanthimos' next movie Poor Things, which stars Stone, 34, as a woman named Bella who is brought back to life by a scientist played by Willem Dafoe.

The short teaser briefly shows Bella as she is electrocuted on a medical examination table and wakes up.

The trailer teases the rest of the film's cast, with 67-year-old Dafoe's scarred scientist, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef and Jerrod Carmichael appearing to join Bella on a steam boat in the ocean.

"I am finding being alive fascinating," Bella says at one point before the teaser shows her spitting out food and slapping a bewildered Duncan (Ruffalo) across the face.

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An official synopsis for the film calls it "the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter."

Bella proves "eager to learn" under the scientist's supervision but quickly "runs off with Duncan Wedderburn, a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation."

The film is directed by Lanthimos, whose last feature-length film, 2018's The Favourite, also starred Stone and received 10 Oscar nominations. Olivia Colman won Best Actress that year for her role in The Favourite, while Stone was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Stone is a producer on Poor Things and appears to have developed a close collaborative relationship with filmmaker Lanthimos; she and The Favourite castmate Joe Alwyn, as well as 67-year-old Dafoe, are also working together on his next film AND.

In May 2022, Stone told reporters in Athens that working with Lanthimos is "a great gift" after she appeared in his 30-minute short film Bleat, released last year.

"I don't know if it's the hardest project I've ever done, but it was definitely a challenge," Stone said at a press conference at the time. "I could talk for hours about the things I like in working with Yorgos."

Lanthimos' upcoming Poor Things is written by Tony McNamara, who wrote both The Favourite and Stone's 2021 Disney movie Cruella. Christopher Abbott (Girls) is also listed among the film's cast.

Poor Things is in theaters Sept. 8.