The first full-length trailer for Alex Garland's Annihilation has arrived and it's truly crazy, along with two new photos. Audiences have been treated to some excellent, sophisticated sci-fi in recent years and those risks studios have been willing to take have really paid off. That's why Paramount is betting on Annihilation, but this really looks like it's going to be something totally unique. Will the risk pay off? Who knows at this point? But this new footage is something you absolutely need to see.

Paramount previously released a teaser trailer for Annihilation, which gave a general sense of what to expect from the movie, but didn't give much in the way of story and was very shy on giving away any of the big visuals. This trailer goes all in on both. We get a sense for this team Natalie Portman is a part of and the strange world they're going to enter in the movie. It turns out, that world is absolutely filled with horrifying creations that wouldn't occur naturally. Like a shark mixed with a crocodile, for example. This looks like a trippy blend of horror, thriller and sci-fi that could make it a movie on your must-see list for 2018.

Annihilation is based on the novel of the same name written by Jeff VanderMeer, which was published in 2014. The movie and the book tell the story of a scientific expedition to a mysterious environmental disaster zone known as "The Shimmer". Led by a psychologist (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the mission team also includes a surveyor, a linguist, an anthropologist, and a biologist (Portman). As we see in the trailer, this isn't the first time that a group of (seemingly) qualified individuals has ventured into this mysterious place where the laws of nature no longer apply. It soon becomes clear to the team just how dangerous this "The Shimmer" really is.

Alex Garland, the author-turned-filmmaker and director of Ex Machina, wrote the adaptation and directed Annihilation. Unfortunately, test screenings have not gone so well and producer David Ellison said the movie was "too intellectual" for broad audiences. But fellow producer Scott Rudin didn't feel the need to enforce the recommended changes, so instead, Netflix is going to handle international distribution for the movie. This move didn't make Garland too happy, but Annihilation is still going to get a theatrical release in the U.S, Canada and China.

In addition to star Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, the movie also stars Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, Benedict Wong and Oscar Isaac. Even though many people around the world are going to see this movie on Netflix, if you're up for some intellectual sci-fi, this very well may be worth checking out in a theater. Annihilation is set to arrive in theaters on February 23, 2018. Be sure to check out the new Annihilation trailer and photos, courtesy of Paramount Pictures YouTube, for yourself below.

Annihilation Photo 1
Annihilation Photo 2