Prima Facie Trailer Puts Cynthia Erivo on Both Sides of the Courtroom

Sony Pictures has released the first official trailer for Prima Facie, with Cynthia Erivo playing Tessa, a successful British defence barrister forced to confront the legal system from the other side. The film opens in UK and Irish cinemas on November 13, 2026. A US theatrical date has not been announced in the current official material.

What the Prima Facie trailer establishes

Tessa has built her career inside London’s adversarial court system, including defending men accused of sexual assault. The trailer first presents that confidence through her courtroom work, then changes perspective after she is assaulted by a colleague connected to a powerful legal family.

That event is the story’s hinge. Tessa must navigate the same rules, burden of proof and credibility tests that she previously used as an advocate. The film is therefore not simply a case-of-the-week courtroom drama. Its central conflict is between Tessa’s professional belief in the system and her experience of seeking justice within it.

Sony’s trailer does not disclose how the case concludes. It also should not be read as evidence for specific verdicts or consequences beyond the official synopsis.

How the film changes Suzie Miller’s stage play

Suzie Miller adapted her own play for the screen. The best-known stage production was constructed as a one-woman performance, with Jodie Comer playing Tessa in London and on Broadway. The film keeps Tessa at the center but expands the story into a full ensemble.

Daniel Ings, Simon Russell Beale, Elizabeth Dulau and Noma Dumezweni are among the principal cast listed by the British Council. Sony’s trailer description also names Toheeb Jimoh. That wider cast is one of the clearest structural differences between the screen adaptation and the solo theatrical version.

Susanna White directs, with Greer Simpkin, Kevin Loader and David Jowsey producing. Erivo is also an executive producer through Edith’s Daughter. The British Council lists the completed film at 106 minutes and credits Isobel Waller-Bridge as composer.

Prima Facie’s festival and release status

The movie had its world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival and is also an official selection of the BFI London Film Festival. Those festival appearances are separate from its commercial release.

Sony’s verified UK trailer gives November 13 as the cinema date for the UK and Ireland. That wording should not be treated as a worldwide date: the studio has not attached a US release date to the trailer, and other territories may follow different schedules.

What is firm is the creative chain. Miller wrote the original play and screenplay, White directs, and Erivo leads a screen version that turns the stage monologue into an ensemble legal drama without changing the central question: what happens when a barrister’s confidence in the law collides with her own experience of it?