‘The Stranger’: Coming to Netflix in October 2022 and What We Know So Far

Hotly tipped for awards in 2023 is 'The Stranger' which is headed exclusively to Netflix in October 2022.

Tigran Asatryan What's on Netflix Avatar

netflix thriller movie the stranger everything we know so far

Picture: Netflix

Ever expanding its feature film slate, Netflix has acquired The Stranger, a tense Australian thriller The Stranger starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris, which premiered at the Cannes Festival earlier this year and will be headed to Netflix in October 2022. 

The movie is written and helmed by actor and director Thomas M. Wright, whose directorial debut was 2018’s Acute Misfortune. He commented on working on The Stranger:

“With The Stranger, I wanted to make a psychological crime film that took audiences into a place that is hidden — a film that was authentic and realistic in its detail, but also immersive and cinematic. A film that demanded attention and investment. A film that an audience could lean into — and fall into. I centered the film on people who didn’t know the victim, but who devoted years of their lives – and their mental and physical health – to them; because though violence is the reason for this film, it is not its subject. Its subject is the connections between people. That means that, for me, this is a film defined by empathy.”

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Director Thomas M. Wright in the middle with stars Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris at the Cannes Film Festival 2022

Wright also added about the movie being acquired by Netflix:

“For an independent Australian film to premiere in the Official Selection in Cannes, and then be brought to the largest audience anywhere as a Netflix film, is unprecedented. We couldn’t be more proud of this film and to be partnering with Netflix to release it to an international audience.”

The Stranger is produced by See-Saw Films, Anonymous Content, and Blue Tongue Films, whose founder Joel Edgerton stars alongside Sean Harris.

The movie has received rave reviews from various critics online. The Guardian gave the movie a 5-star review saying by a certain point in the movie:

“it’s abundantly clear that The Stranger has crept, assiduously, into brilliance; to call it an unconventionally impressive crime drama is to put it very lightly.”

Here’s everything else we know about Netflix’s The Stranger:


When is the The Stranger Netflix release date?

The first we saw of Netflix’s The Stranger was a released clip at the Cannes Film Festival.

With the release of the official trailer, we can confirm the release date as Wednesday, October 19th, 2022.

The film will be reportedly available on Netflix globally except for the following areas: Italy, Benelux, Portugal, Greece, Israel, and the Middle East.

The movie will also be available in select theaters in October 2022. This is undoubtedly to allow the movie to qualify for the Oscars and other award shows in 2023.


What’s the plot of The Stranger?

The Stranger - Netflix Movie

Picture: Netflix

Here’s the official logline for the movie:

The Stranger is based around two strangers who strike up a conversation on a long journey. One is a suspect in an unsolved missing person’s case and the other the undercover operative on his trail. Their uneasy friendship becomes the core of the tightly wrought thriller, which is based on the true story of one of the largest investigations and undercover operations in Australia.


Who is cast in The Stranger?

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Golden Globe nominee Joel Edgerton plays one of the two main characters in The Stranger.

Netflix’s The Stranger stars Joel Edgerton (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Sean Harris (The Borgias, Mission Impossible).

The performances of both leads are praised by critics who saw the movie at two film festivals.

They are joined by Steve Mozakis (I, Frankenstein) and Jada Alberts (Mystery Road).


Are you excited for the release of The Stranger on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!

Written by

Tigran is our resident previews writer. He works on collecting everything known about upcoming Netflix Original projects and also is editor-in-chief of Redanian Intelligence. Resides in France.