Trailer Tuesday: The World's End

You should know the drill by now: When the creative efforts of writer-director Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost combine, the results are a highly entertaining mix of Hollywood genre expectations and distinctive everyday Britishness.

First there was 2004 zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead, where our heroes' grand plan involved holing up at their local pub to survive the Undead Apocalypse. Then there was 2007's Hot Fuzz, which brought Bad Boys-level buddy cop carnage to a picture perfect English village... And now there's The World's End, in which a pub crawl becomes an epic battle to save the world from alien invasion.  You know, just your typical Saturday night...

Also starring Martin Freeman,  Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, and Rosamund Pike, The World's End focuses on five childhood friends who return to their hometown on the cusp of their forties to complete the ambitious pub crawl they were never able to finish in their earlier years. Except something is very very wrong with the locals...

In a reversal of roles, Frost is the goody two-shoes this time, while usual straightman Pegg is the deadbeat slacker most intent on recapturing his youth.

The World's End is intended as the concluding entry in the loose Blood and Ice Cream trilogy, (also known as the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy), of which Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz made up parts 1 and 2. Both of these earlier movies have only improved with age, developing a cult following for their mix of movie references and memorable one-liners. Given that I've yet to be disappointed by the guys, I expect the same for this concluding installment. I can't wait!

The World's End opens on 19 July in the UK and 23 August in the US. The film's South African release date has sadly yet to be set.