Before Karen Gillan's much-anticipated reunion with Mike Flanagan in The Life of Chuck, she will play a femme fatale opposite Russell Crowe in Sleeping Dogs. The thriller has Crowe in the shoes of a former homicide detective suffering from Alzheimer's. In an attempt to stay active after undergoing a clinical trial, the character decides to reopen a crime case after questioning whether he put the right person behind bars. The upcoming film is inspired by Eugen Ovidiu Chirovici's novel, and it will come out soon. Before planning to watch the crime drama, here is a detailed guide with all the information we know about it.

Does 'Sleeping Dogs' Have a Release Date?

The thriller will come out in a matter of days now. The film's release date is Friday, March 22, 2024. Production wrapped in Australia in spring of last year, so it is comforting to know that soon enough it will be on the big screen. This comes after the film's distributor, The Avenue, shared a first-look image back in May 2023.

Will 'Sleeping Dogs' Be in Theaters or on Streaming?

As you might've guessed, Sleeping Dogs will be exclusively in theaters starting Friday, March 22. There is currently no news about the film joining a streaming service, so as of now, it will only be available to watch on the big screen. Although many titles are made available in theaters and VOD simultaneously, that isn't the case for this crime thriller. To secure tickets in advance and find out about showtimes near you, click the link below.

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Does 'Sleeping Dogs' Have a Trailer?

The official trailer came out on January 25, and it sets up a complicated homicide case. Roy Freeman, a former detective battling memory loss, joins a cutting-edge Alzheimer's treatment in the hopes that he will be able to go back on the field. After the doctors tell him to be active post-surgery, the protagonist feels like the best way to gain his memory back is by solving a murder investigation (no matter how daunting that may seem). After he speaks with a man who claims he was wrongfully convicted of the crime, Roy is determined to dig up the truth despite the circumstances. By the likes of the trailer, it seems like many other suspects might've killed the victim and the main character is willing to take the risk of identifying who is truly guilty.

Collider premiered an exclusive sneak peek on March 14, and the clip features a scene between Roy and an inmate called Isaac who is on death row and could potentially die without proving his innocence. As the two have a conversation, the man reveals that he isn't guilty of the crime he confessed to years prior, when the protagonist was still working as a detective. After replaying the events in his head multiple times, the man concludes that something else went down that night and tells Roy everything in detail. Although the scene is cut short before viewers get to know what took place at the crime scene, this preview and the trailer hint that the former detective will reopen the case right after this prison visit.

Who Is Starring in 'Sleeping Dogs'?

Russell Crowe plays Roy Freeman, the protagonist of this mind-bending thriller. The actor isn't unbeknownst to this genre. After all, one of his most well-known performances was opposite Ryan Gosling in the comedic neo-noir film The Nice Guys, in which the two play a mismatched duo responsible for investigating the suicide of a porn star. Although it is the first time that Crowe plays a character with memory loss, he has taken on some challenging roles in the past, including that of a mathematician diagnosed with a mental illness in A Beautiful Mind. Sleeping Dogs isn't the only project the actor will star in this year. He will also be in Kraven the Hunter and in Rothko.

Tommy Flanagan (Alien Vs. Predator) will play Jimmy Remis, Roy's long-time partner on the field who becomes a vital helper in the course of this investigation. Pacharo Mzembe (Love and Monsters) plays Isaac, the man behind bars who can convince the former detective to reopen the case that got him imprisoned.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 alum Karen Gillan also stars in the crime drama as Laura Baines, one of the potential suspects in the murder investigation. The actress talked about her character in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

“My interpretation of the character might not line up with everyone else’s interpretation, but I liked this idea that she was very performative. So I thought it would be fun for me to watch some YouTube videos of people that she might want to emulate and then do a little bit of an affectation.”

Other names involved in the film are Marton Csokas (The Equalizer) as Joseph Wieder, Thomas M. Wright (Sweet Country) as Wayne Deveraux, and Elizabeth Blackmore (The Vampire Diaries) as Dana Finn.

What Is 'Sleeping Dogs' About?

Here is the official logline for the film:

In the wake of a cutting-edge Alzheimer’s treatment, former homicide detective Roy Freeman (Crowe) is tasked with re-examining a brutal murder case from his past – the grisly murder of a college professor (Csokas). Intrigued and fighting to regain his memory, Roy enlists his former partner (Flanagan) to help him revive the investigation. This time though, things unfold very differently when they encounter a magnetic and mysterious woman (Gillan): as he uncovers a tangled web of contradictions and secrets, Roy is forced to face a horrific reality that changes his world forever in the blink of an eye.

Who Made 'Sleeping Dogs'?

This film marks Adam Cooper's directorial debut, after years as a screenwriter for other projects like Assassin's Creed and The Divergent Series: Allegiant. Cooper is also credited as one of the writers behind Sleeping Dogs, the other one being Bill Collage (Emancipation). The two are also producers of the film, alongside Deborah Glover (Thor: Ragnarok), Arun Kumar (Here Alone), Pouya Shahbazian (Divergent), and more.