Apple TV+ has unveiled the gripping first trailer for The Lost Bus, a tense survival thriller helmed by Captain Phillips and United 93 director Paul Greengrass. Based on Lizzie Johnson’s acclaimed nonfiction book Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, the film recounts the astonishing true story of a school bus driver and a teacher who risked everything to save 22 children during the 2018 Camp Fire — the most devastating wildfire in California’s history.
At the heart of the film is Matthew McConaughey, playing the unassuming yet determined bus driver who answers a desperate radio call: "There are 22 kids who are stranded… is there anybody who can pick these kids up?" The trailer doesn’t waste a second, plunging viewers straight into a nightmare of fire-streaked skies, collapsing trees, and a yellow school bus winding through what looks like the end of the world. America Ferrera co-stars as the teacher who joins him in the life-or-death escape.
The screenplay comes courtesy of Greengrass and Brad Inglesby (Mare of Easttown), and all signs point to The Lost Bus making a serious bid for attention on the autumn festival circuit before landing on Apple TV+ and in select cinemas. With its real-world stakes, blistering pace, and grounded performances, it’s precisely the kind of story Greengrass thrives on — high-stress human drama told with pulse-pounding immediacy.
