First trailer for Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen, starring Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart

The first trailer for the duelling “DIE HARD in the White House” films, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, is here.  Starring Gerard Butler as an ex-Secret Service agent who gets caught up in defending against an attack on the White House, which sees the President (Aaron Eckhart) being taken hostage by terrorists.  It’s the very definition of high-concept and the only thing missing from the trailer is a “Yippie-Ki-Yay, Mr. President” at the end.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY) the film also stars Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, Dylan McDermott, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Angela Bassett, Rick Yune, and, oh yes, Morgan Freeman.  It’s an impressive cast to what looks like a pretty formulaic actioner, which isn’t to say it couldn’t be fun.  It could be a total blast.  It’ll be interesting to see how they market the competing project, Roland Emmerich‘s WHITE HOUSE DOWN, starring Channing Tatum and Jaimie Foxx after this one hits. 

Yippie-Ki-Yay, Mr. President:

Here’s the synopsis:

When the White House (Secret Service Code: “Olympus”) is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the President is kidnapped, disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building. As our national security team scrambles to respond, they are forced to rely on Banning’s inside knowledge to help retake the White House, save the President, and avert an even bigger disaster.

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN hits theaters on March 22, 2013.