Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace in moody first trailer for 'Dead Man Down'

Only a few years ago, the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo launched the careers of a number of people. Noomi Rapace has obviously gone on to become something of a Hollywood favorite, but veteran director Niels Arden Oplev has also seen his profile raised significantly. He's been kind of quiet, though, mainly because he's been putting together his follow-up film, the wonderfully-cast thriller, Dead Man Down. While a simple look at the plot may make it sound like just another hitman/revenge film, there are a number of surprises to be found as the first trailer has emerged.

Reuniting with Rapace and bringing along Colin Farrell, the film follows a professional hit man seduced by a woman into getting revenge on an underground crime lord. The moody, atmospheric style is similar but more sultry and noir than the 'Tattoo' movies, and the chemistry between Farrell and Rapace looks like a definite highlight. Terrence Howard plays the villain of the piece, and he hasn't looked quite this good in anything in a very long time. Other surprises? Not only is this a WWE Studios co-production, branching out into more prominent films than ever before, but not seen in this trailer is the great Isabelle Huppert. That's right, Isabelle Huppert is in this, along with Dominic Cooper and Armand Assante. Intrigued yet?

Dead Man Down just jumped near the top of my most anticipated movies of next year. It arrives on March 8th 2013. Check out the trailer below....