The Boys Star Jack Quaid Has A Weird Superpower In Action-Packed Novocaine Trailer

Paramount Pictures has revealed the first trailer for “Novocaine.” This appears to be going for an original superhero movie of sorts, albeit one with a pretty fun twist. Jack Quaid, of “The Boys” Fame, stars in the lead role as a man trying to rescue his new girlfriend, who’s been taken hostage after a robbery gone wrong. To do so, he has to fight off a bunch of bad guys. Why is he qualified to do such a thing? Because he literally can’t feel pain. So what he lacks in skill, he makes up for in other bats*** crazy ways.

This is a somewhat familiar setup at its core: Average guy meets a girl, falls in love with said girl, something bad happens to that girl, and he makes it his mission to save her. How many times have we seen that? What makes this interesting is the “can’t feel pain” component, which leads to some truly insane action sequences. It’s sort of like how “Kick-Ass” had a reduced ability to feel pain, only this appears to be amped up to 11.

It is made very clear that Quaid’s character may not be able to feel pain, but he still suffers the physical consequences of it. So despite his nerve endings being spared, those injuries are going to add up, whether he feels them or not. Will he be able to outlast the baddies and save the girl? The very brief synopsis for the film reads as follows:

When the girl of his dreams (Amber Midthunder) is kidnapped, everyman Nate (Jack Quaid) turns his inability to feel pain into an unexpected strength in his fight to get her back.

Aside from Quaid, the film stars Amber Midthunder, who got to kick ass in “Prey” a couple years back. Given how great that movie was, it’s nice to see her in another action movie — albeit in a very different mode this time around. The cast also includes Jacob Batalon (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”), Ray Nicholson (“Smile 2”), Betty Gabriel (“Get Out”), and Matt Walsh (“Ted”).

This movie comes at a time when superhero movies aren’t the guaranteed hits they once were. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has stressed that he isn’t worried about superhero fatigue, but it’s clear audiences want something unique from these films now. In this case, we’re getting an original action movie with a unique twist that turns this average, everyday man into a vigilante-like figure imbued with an unconventional power. Fingers crossed that it works out, because it would be nice if we could get more original takes on vigilante justice in the future. 

The film is directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen (“Villains, “Significant Other”). Lars Jacobson (“Day of the Dead: Bloodline”) penned the screenplay. Drew Simon, Tory Tunnell, Joby Harold, Sam Speiser, Matt Schwartz, and Julian Rosenberg are on board as producers.

“Novacaine” is set to hit theaters on March 14, 2025.