The Pacific Ocean has a relentless way of drowning out the world, but in the first trailer for Netflix’s In Waves, those crashing, watercolor swells are the only thing keeping the soul from sinking. Released on October 20, 2026, the teaser for the animated adaptation of AJ Dungo’s seminal graphic memoir isn't just a marketing beat; it’s a visceral, tear-streaked promise of a film that already feels like the heavyweight to beat in the next Academy Awards cycle. With Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu anchoring a narrative that feels both intimate and infinite, the project is being whispered about in the same prestigious breath as I Lost My Body and The Red Turtle—works that shattered the ceiling of what Western audiences expect from the medium of animation.

The trailer unfolds in a haunting duality of blue and sepia, a visual dialect that fans of Dungo’s 2019 Nobrow publication will find instantly familiar. It opens on a quiet, sun-drenched stretch of Southern California coastline, where the air seems thick with salt and the heavy, electric hum of unspoken words. We hear Sharpe—the White Lotus and Giri/Haji standout—lending a voice that is both weathered and deeply tender. He portrays AJ, a young man navigating the crushing gravity of grief through the only two anchors that make sense: the woman he loves and the history of the sport that gives him a momentary, floating peace.

Alchemy on the Horizon: Translating a Graphic Icon

Adapting a work as delicate as In Waves was never a job for a standard studio assembly line. The original book is a masterful dual narrative, weaving the history of modern surfing—specifically the legendary lives of Duke Kahanamoku and Tom Blake—into the raw, personal chronicle of AJ and his late partner, Kristen. Director Phuong Mai Nguyen and the team at Silex Films have clearly treated this balance like a high-wire act. The animation mirrors Dungo’s clean lines and emotive minimalism, utilizing a color palette that pulses between the vibrant, living world and the muted, ghostly hues of memory.

Stephanie Hsu, continuing her trajectory as one of the most exciting performers in the game after Everything Everywhere All at Once, gives Kristen a heartbeat that feels incredibly fragile yet impossibly loud. In the trailer, she captures a specific kind of life—a life being fought for even as the narrative shadow of illness looms. When she tells AJ that the water is the only place she feels truly herself, the delivery is a gut-punch of vulnerability and defiance. It’s the kind of vocal performance that justifies why Netflix is positioning this film as a primary Oscar contender. The chemistry between Sharpe and Hsu, though captured in separate booths, feels immediate, devastating, and hauntingly real.

The digital landscape caught fire almost the second the trailer hit Netflix’s official Bluesky and X channels. Fans of the source material expressed a cocktail of excitement and that specific, "good" kind of dread that comes from knowing a film is going to break your heart and leave you grateful for it. "I am absolutely not ready to cry this hard again," one user posted on Bluesky, a sentiment mirrored by thousands who found a lifeline in Dungo’s original work. Critics and fans alike have championed the casting of Sharpe, noting that his brand of intellectual, sensitive masculinity is the perfect vessel for AJ’s introspective journey.

Where Surf History Meets Private Heartbreak

Beyond the romance, the trailer highlights how In Waves functions as a lush love letter to the ocean itself. The historical segments aren't mere filler; they are the film's backbone. We catch glimpses of Duke Kahanamoku, the Native Hawaiian icon who shared surfing with the world, and Tom Blake, the visionary who reimagined the board. These sequences are rendered with a mythic, timeless quality, grounding the contemporary struggle of AJ and Kristen in a lineage of seekers who turned to the waves for healing. By tethering a private tragedy to this global history of resilience, the film transcends the tropes of a standard hospital drama.

Production leaders Priscilla Bertin and Judith Nora of Silex Films, working alongside Charades, have clearly obsessed over the fluidity of movement. The surfing scenes avoid the sterile perfection of typical CGI; instead, they possess a hand-drawn, weightless grace that captures the actual physical sensation of gliding on water. It’s a technical triumph that will likely dominate technical conversations during the winter awards circuit. Industry insiders are already circling the November 27, 2026, limited theatrical release as a calculated power move, ensuring the film satisfies all eligibility requirements for the 99th Academy Awards before it arrives on the Netflix streaming platform on December 11, 2026.

Netflix has spent the last half-decade curating a formidable animation stable that rivals the legacy houses of Disney and Pixar. From the gothic whimsy of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio to the rebellious energy of Nimona, the streamer is betting big on adult-leaning, emotionally complex stories. In Waves is the crown jewel of this strategy. It’s a film that demands to be viewed as high art, stepping away from the "animation is for kids" cliché that has lingered for too long. The trailer suggests a quietness, a pacing that respects the audience's intelligence, favoring the long silence of the horizon over frantic, hyperactive action.

The timing is everything. By choosing a late November theatrical window, Netflix is placing In Waves side-by-side with the year's heavy-hitting live-action dramas, signaling that this is a prestige title through and through. The December 11 streaming date is equally surgical, landing just as the holiday season begins and award voters start eyeing their shortlists. The comics community has already embraced the footage with open arms; outlets like Comics Beat and AIPT Comics have praised the adaptation for preserving the "quiet dignity" of Dungo's illustrations. For a story that won the 2020 Prix BD Fnac France Inter and became a touchstone for those navigating loss, the expectations are sky-high.

As the final notes of the trailer fade, we see AJ paddling out into a dark, temperamental sea, the sun just barely kissing the crest of a wave. It’s a metaphor that hits home without needing a single word. The film seems destined to capture that bittersweet necessity of moving forward when the person you wanted to walk with is gone. With Sharpe and Hsu providing the film’s pulse, In Waves looks like the emotional powerhouse of the year. Keep your tissues close—the tide is coming in on November 27, and it’s going to change everything.