Rebel Wilson’s ‘The Deb’ Gets First Trailer & Digital Release Date; Pic Sparked High-Profile Legal Battles

It’s been a long and legally-winding road to release for Rebel Wilson‘s directorial debut, but we now have the first trailer for The Deb. Have a look above.

Sunrise Films on Monday set an August 25 U.S. digital-release date for the musical comedy, which will debut in a day earlier in the UK via Vertigo Releasing. That news comes after the film’s original date was moved from April 9 amid a volcanic legal fight involving Wilson, the movie’s producers and star Charlottle MacInnes, who sued the rookie helmer for defamation. More on that below.

The Deb follows Taylah Simpkins (Natalie Abbott), a lovable farm girl and high school outcast in small-town Australia who is convinced that the upcoming Debutante Ball — “the Deb” — is her one shot at reinventing herself. When her sharp-tongued city cousin Maeve (MacInnes) is exiled to Taylah’s drought-stricken town of Dunburn, she’s got one opinion about the ball: It’s a “heteronormative shit-show.” As the two cousins collide and reluctantly conspire, they discover that the path to the spotlight runs straight through the messy truth of who they really are.

Stevie Jean, Tara Morice, Steph Tisdell and Shane Jacobson also star, with Wilson in a supporting role that includes a scene where her character admonishes Taylah, “I’m sorry, you’re taking away valuable oxygen from my cigarette.”

Meg Washington penned the original songs in The Deb, which premiered as the closing-night pic of the 2024 Toronto Film Festival. Days after that debut screening, Wilson sued the movie’s British producers — spouses Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron, along with Vince Holden — in Los Angeles, alleging that Ghost sexually harassed MacInnes and later colluded with the actress to cover up what took place. Wilson also accused the producer trio of intimidation and embezzling funds from the film. A judge dismissed those claims early this year.

But that was only part of The Deb‘s journey in the courts. MacInnes sued Wilson for defamation, claiming that the Pitch Perfect star damaged her reputation by alleging that she was sexually harassed by Ghost and then colluded with Ghost to cover it up. That suit remains in litigation.

Meanwhile, The Deb finally is opening in digital release next month.