Lionsgate has released the official trailer for The Gates, its newest thriller featuring Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek in his final movie appearance after his death on February 11 at the age of 48. The R-rated film is scheduled to arrive in U.S. theaters on March 13, 2026.
“The film follows three college students — Derek, Kevin, and Tyon on a road trip gone wrong, as the three young men take an ill-advised shortcut through a remote gated community, where they find themselves trapped behind the walls after witnessing a murder,” reads the official synopsis. “Over the course of the night, they find themselves blamed, hunted, and fractured by their own differing belief systems, while the perpetrator — James Van Der Beek, at his most charming and terrifying — emerges as the cunning patriarch that holds the entire community under his influence.”
Check out The Gates trailer below (watch more trailers):
What happens in The Gates trailer?
The trailer introduces Van Der Beek as an influential pastor who controls the residents of a gated community. After three young men accidentally witness him hurting a woman, he hunts them down in order to silence them and protect his reputation. The witnesses try to ask for help with some of the residents in the community. However, they’ll soon find out that almost all of them are the pastor’s loyal followers, leaving them trapped with nowhere to hide.
The Gates is written and directed by John Burr. This is his second directorial effort following 2017’s supernatural thriller Muse. The cast also included Mason Gooding as Derel, Algee Smith as Kevin, Keith Powers as Tyon, Brad Leland as Christopher, Elle Evans as Elizabeth, Sofia Hublitz as Roxy, Aliyah Celeste as Julissa, Natacha Ellie as Kendra, Randy Wayne as Gary, and more. The film is produced by Nancy Leopardi, Ross Kohn, and Gary Glushon.
