The Take: Denzel Washington & Pattinson on Netflix

Some pairings just make sense the moment you hear them. Denzel Washington and Robert Pattinson robbing a bank together in a New York heist thriller directed by the man behind City of God? After years of near-total secrecy, Netflix has finally let us see it. The Take, the twisty new heist film from director Fernando Meirelles, unveiled its first look on November 9, 2026, with a confirmed release date, a striking poster, and a storytelling trick unlike any other heist movie.

The film stars Washington as a charismatic master thief, Pattinson as the ex-soldier he recruits, and Daisy Edgar-Jones as the woman caught between them — who also happens to work at the very bank they plan to rob. Here is everything we know so far: the release date, the cast, the story, and the twist that makes it different.

The Take Release Date: January 15, 2027 on Netflix and in Theaters

The Take premieres on Friday, January 15, 2027 — in select theaters and on Netflix globally, on the same day. The date is confirmed on the film’s official poster, which carries the tagline “TIME TO GET WHAT YOU DESERVE” and the line “IN SELECT THEATERS AND ON NETFLIX | JANUARY 15.” The poster also confirms the film is rated R, so expect a grown-up thriller rather than a glossy, bloodless caper.

What Is The Take About?

The official logline is short, and deliberately so: “A bank guard, a teller, and a master thief get caught in a deadly game of cons and double crosses.” Behind that one sentence sits a love triangle, a robbery, and a plot the cast refuses to discuss — because the mystery is the whole point.

Robert Pattinson plays Noah, a former Army captain struggling to adjust to civilian life. He is recruited by Christian Carter (Denzel Washington), a charismatic thief with a plan to rob Manhattan’s richest bank. The catch is that the bank’s teller is Rose (Daisy Edgar-Jones) — Noah’s girlfriend. As the official synopsis puts it: “With time and love on the line, Noah must decide who he can count on.”

Edgar-Jones summed up the cast’s approach: “I don’t want to set it up too much, as the fun of this film is the mystery and its turns.” Meirelles is even more direct about the payoff, teasing that it is only in the final 10 seconds of the movie that “everything falls into place.”

The Big Twist: The Whole Film Is Told From Noah’s Point of View

Here is what makes The Take genuinely different. Most heist films show you both sides of the job — the criminals planning the score and the police closing in. This one does not. The entire story is told exclusively from Noah’s point of view.

As Meirelles explained it: “We only know what Noah knows, either because he’s physically present or because he hears something over the intercom. We never get to see what’s happening elsewhere or what the other characters are doing when he’s not around. This strict subjectivity felt quite unique.” The audience shares his confusion, his blind spots, and his dawning realization that he may not understand the people around him at all.

Every scene becomes a small set piece with its own surprise, because we discover things at exactly the same speed as Noah. Meirelles has described the script as having a “puzzle-like structure” — when he first read it, he said he “wasn’t quite sure whether I was reading a heist film or a psychological drama with a love story at its center.” Do not go in expecting a straightforward robbery movie.

The Take Cast: Who Plays Who

Denzel Washington as Christian Carter

Washington plays Christian Carter, the master thief at the center of the scheme — and by the actor’s own description, not a thief you should trust for a second. Washington calls Carter a “frustrated musician” and a “precise mathematical mind who believes time is of the essence.” In Carter’s head, every job is an equation. The problem, Washington says, is that Carter is wrong. “He thinks there’s a mathematical equation for success, but he’s wrong,” the actor explains. “He manipulates everyone around him, using anyone in any way he can to get what he wants. He wants to dominate everyone, and he believes he’s smarter than everybody else. Ultimately, he doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”

“At this point in my life, I’m focused on doing the best work with the best filmmakers,” Washington said. The Take is his first Netflix original film — a milestone for an actor whose career has mostly lived on the big screen.

Robert Pattinson as Noah

For Pattinson, The Take was the kind of project that “very rarely” comes along. “It’s a really interesting and exciting script,” he said of Simon Kinberg’s screenplay. “Plus, getting to do a heist movie set in New York with Denzel Washington and Daisy Edgar-Jones, what else is there to say? It was one of those dream-team situations that was pretty easy to say yes to.” Working with Washington meant something personal: “Denzel is one of the reasons I wanted to become an actor, so getting to work with him was pretty incredible.”

Pattinson previously worked with Washington’s son, John David Washington, on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet — now he has shared the screen with both Washingtons. What surprised him most was Washington’s love of improvisation: “You’d start a five-page scene thinking you knew where it was going, and then suddenly you’re completely off-piste.”

Pattinson describes Noah as a man who is his own worst enemy when it comes to trust: “Noah is someone who has a hard time trusting people, but, ironically, he’s also quite deceitful himself. He doesn’t even fully understand why he’s robbing the bank or what’s happening around him.” Meirelles calls Pattinson “one of the best actors working today.”

Daisy Edgar-Jones as Rose

Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Rose, Noah’s girlfriend — and the person whose ordinary working day sits at the center of the robbery. Rose is a teller at Manhattan’s richest bank, which means the heist is not some distant crime for her: it is happening at her workplace, to people she knows, while the man she loves is part of it. That is the love story inside the thriller, and the reason the film’s stakes feel personal rather than just financial. Like Washington, Edgar-Jones is making her Netflix original debut with The Take — she calls Meirelles’ City of God “one of the most exquisite films.” What Rose knows, and when she figures it out, is part of the mystery the film is guarding.

Director Fernando Meirelles and Writer Simon Kinberg

Behind the camera is Fernando Meirelles, the Oscar-nominated Brazilian filmmaker behind City of God and The Two Popes, which he previously made for Netflix. To prepare, Meirelles revisited heist classics — Heat, Point Break, The Killing, and Dog Day Afternoon — before finding something new in this film’s structure and perspective. “You start watching the film without quite knowing where it’s going to take you,” he said. “The story keeps surprising you right up to the very end.”

The screenplay comes from Simon Kinberg, whose credits include X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Sherlock Holmes. The producers are Samson Mucke, Audrey Chon, and Meirelles himself — a heavyweight combination behind a heavyweight cast.

From Here Comes the Flood to The Take

This film had a different name first. The Take was previously titled Here Comes the Flood, in development at Netflix since 2020, when the streamer acquired Kinberg’s original screenplay in a seven-figure deal. The retitling was reported in October 2026, and Netflix has not explained the change. The new title is shorter and sharper — and the rename marked the moment the film stepped out of the shadows: within weeks, there was a poster, a date, and the first images of the three stars in character.

Filming Locations and Trailer: What We Know

The Take was filmed between November 2025 and January 2026, shot on location across New York City and the surrounding area — including Jersey City, Hoboken, and Newark — with additional filming in Atlanta. The New York setting is not just background: the story is rooted in Manhattan, and shooting on real streets gives a heist film a texture backlots cannot fake.

There is no trailer for The Take yet — the November first look gave us the poster and stills, but no moving footage. A teaser or full trailer is expected in early to mid-December 2026, roughly a month before the film arrives. We will update this article the moment the trailer lands.

What to Watch While You Wait

Two months is a long time to wait for a heist this good. Until The Take arrives, there is plenty to keep you busy. For another tense Netflix thriller, our guide to Black Doves Season 2 covers the spy series that has become one of the streamer’s biggest hits, while Taken: Natalee Holloway is the Netflix docuseries that topped the charts in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. VisionQuest breaks down Marvel’s latest Disney+ event series, Jailer 2 covers Rajinikanth’s record-breaking blockbuster heading to Prime Video, and fantasy fans can catch up with The Rings of Power Season 3 and Avengers: Doomsday, the biggest movie date on the 2026 calendar. For pure movie-star spectacle, King has everything on Shah Rukh Khan’s next blockbuster.

Frequently Asked Questions About The Take

When is The Take released on Netflix?

The Take premieres on Friday, January 15, 2027, on Netflix globally and in select theaters on the same day.

Who stars in The Take?

Denzel Washington as master thief Christian Carter, Robert Pattinson as ex-Army captain Noah, and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Rose, Noah’s girlfriend and a teller at the bank being robbed. Also starring: Danai Gurira, Moisés Arias, Justin Kirk, and Sean Harris.

What is The Take about?

Noah, a former Army captain adjusting to civilian life, is recruited by charismatic thief Christian Carter to rob Manhattan’s richest bank — where his girlfriend Rose works as a teller. The entire story is told exclusively from Noah’s point of view.

Who directed The Take?

Fernando Meirelles, the Oscar-nominated director of City of God and The Two Popes, directed the film from a screenplay by Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Sherlock Holmes).

Is there a trailer for The Take yet?

Not yet. Netflix and Entertainment Weekly released first-look images and the official poster on November 9, 2026. A teaser or full trailer is expected in early to mid-December 2026.

The Take arrives in select theaters and on Netflix on Friday, January 15, 2027. Mark the date, keep your theories to yourself until the final 10 seconds — and whatever you do, do not trust Christian Carter.