‘The Return’ Trailer: Ralph Fiennes Is a Bare-Chested and Bloodied Odysseus Battling for Juliette Binoche

Ralph Fiennes may be turning heads this awards season for his buzzy performance as Cardinal Lawrence in “Conclave,” but the two-time Academy Award nominee is showing off a different set of skills in epic saga “The Return.”

Fiennes stars as the iconic hero Odysseus in the TIFF-selected feature, which is co-written, directed, and produced by Uberto Pasolini, who previously moved viewers to tears this year with “Nowhere Special.” Juliette Binoche plays Odysseus’ wife Penelope, who has to protect the throne in the aftermath of the Trojan War.

The official synopsis reads: “After 20 years away, Odysseus (Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The King has returned from the Trojan War, but much has changed in his kingdom. His beloved wife Penelope (Binoche) is a prisoner in her own home, hounded by suitors vying to be king. Their son Telemachus faces death at the hands of these suitors, who see him as merely an obstacle to their pursuit of the kingdom. Odysseus has also changed — scarred by his experience of the Trojan war, he is no longer the mighty warrior from years past — but he must rediscover his strength in order to win back all he has lost.”

Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari, Claudio Santamaria, and Angela Molina also star.

“The Return” was written by director Pasolini, John Collee, and Edward Bond. Pasolini also produces along with James Clayton, Roberto Sessa, and Kostantinos Kontovrakis.

Fiennes was previously Oscar-nominated for “The English Patient” and “Schindler’s List.” Binoche and Fiennes reunite for “The Return” after starring in “The English Patient” together.

Fiennes told IndieWire’s Anne Thompson that “The Return” deviates from the classic tale of Odysseus.

“The script did away with monsters,” Fiennes said. “It was the end of ‘The Odyssey,’ and there’s no goddess Athena to help Odysseus look pretty and give him a fuller head of hair or make him more useful. So we embrace the idea that he is a man after 20 years of travel, 10 years at war, 20 years lost. He’s washed up naked, with nothing. He’s given a blanket. All I wear is one red piece of cloth I wrapped around me in different ways, and a loin cloth.”

Fiennes added that portraying Odysseus was a “wonderful challenge” for the feature.

“It’s quite a paradoxical state to be in. He goes to the palace. He looks at the suitors. He still has an inner steel,” Fiennes said of the role. “He’s waiting for his moment. He doesn’t come home in full heroic mode, hardly.”

“The Return” premieres in theaters December 6 from Bleecker Street. Check out the trailer below.