Netflix has unveiled the first official trailer, key art, and five new stills for Steve, a new feature directed by Tim Mielants. Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy headlines the film, joined by Jay Lycurgo in his feature debut. The project reimagines Max Porter’s Sunday Times bestseller Shy, reshaping it for the screen with a focus on raw, personal stakes.
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Set in the mid-1990s, Steve follows a decisive day in the life of headteacher Steve, played by Murphy. He runs a last-chance reform school, a place that takes in students no one else will. As the threat of closure looms, Steve tries to protect the institution’s integrity. His day spirals into an internal battle as he contends with his own mental health struggles while facing external pressures.
Alongside Steve’s story, the film introduces Shy, portrayed by Lycurgo. Shy is a teenager wrestling with the weight of his past and the uncertainty of his future. He navigates conflicting impulses, caught between a fragile sense of self and a tendency toward self-destructive and violent behavior. The connection between Steve and Shy unfolds against the tense reality of a school on the brink, capturing the urgency and volatility of their shared environment.
Tim Mielants directs from a screenplay by Max Porter, who adapts his own novel. The production assembles an experienced creative team that channels the intensity of the book into a concentrated, single-day narrative. The choice to set the story in the 1990s sharpens its atmosphere, grounding it in a period when youth reform programs faced heightened scrutiny and limited resources.
With its dual focus on a man under pressure and a young person at a crossroads, Steve promises an unflinching look at the emotional costs of holding a fractured community together. The film arrives in select cinemas on September 19, before its global release on Netflix on October 3, 2025.
