The first trailer has been released for Lucy, the brand new thriller from French director Luc Besson and actress Scarlett Johansson. The Avengers star takes centre stage as the titular character in this gritty, futuristic, sci-fi adventure and plays a drug mule who finds herself accidentally given extraordinary superpowers by the bag she's transporting.

Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson Plays A Drug Mule Who Finds Herself With Superhuman Powers In 'Lucy.'

After being kidnapped in the Taiwanese city of Taipei, Lucy finds herself in a dangerous situation where a bag of mysterious chemicals has been placed in her stomach. As the drug leaks out she is gifted with superhuman strength and a massive intelligence boost, which enables her to defeat her captors.

The trailer shows Lucy gaining strength and destroying all obstacles in her path before she learns how to shape-shift her appearance, master foreign languages and even manipulate her perception of time. We also see Morgan Freeman making an appearance as a wise scientist who forecasts the unlockable potential of the human brain and begins to work with Lucy to gain an understanding of her powers.

Watch The 'Lucy' Trailer:


The movie is based on the rather questionable premise that we may or may not be only using ten percent of our brains at any one time, a claim that ignited the imagination of the acclaimed Léon director.

Describing his latest movie as a film "about pure intelligence," Besson explained "We're basically using 10 percent of our brain. What happens when we use more?" he told reporters after wrapping in Taipei last November, via Variety.

Having taken the lead in another recent thriller, Under The Skin, Scarlett has proven that she has the talent and gravitas to command the lead in another of her own movies. We can see the currently pregnant star in the cinemas right now starring alongside Chris Evans in the superhero sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is out now.

Lucy will be released in the USA on the 8th August and in the UK on the 22nd August.

More: Her own Black Widow movie? Scarlett Johansson is up for it!

More: What happened during the 'Lucy' shoot in Taipei that nearly derailed the whole movie?

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