Taika Waititi is a cartoonish Hitler in first Jojo Rabbit trailer

Taika Waititi has played vampires, ministers, and intergalactic rock aliens, but his new role is perhaps his silliest yet: Adolf Hitler.

The New Zealand filmmaker wrote and directed Jojo Rabbit, a dark comedy and “anti-hate satire” about a preteen German boy (Roman Griffin Davis) who idolizes the Nazi party during World War II. As the first trailer reveals, Waititi himself plays the boy’s imaginary friend — who happens to be a cartoonish version of Hitler.

Scarlett Johansson stars as the boy’s mother, and the cast also includes Thomasin McKenzie, Sam Rockwell, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, and Rebel Wilson. Jojo Rabbit will hit theaters Oct. 18, after screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Watch the trailer above — shared by Waititi via Twitter — and see the film’s poster below.

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