Watch Chris Hemsworth Battle Moby Dick in the In Heart of the Sea Trailer

Whales Gone Wild. 

In the new trailer for Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea, Chris Hemsworthplays an unassuming seaman going about his seamaning business until a determined whale takes dead aim at his ship.

And it’s not just any old whale: It’s “a whale of mammoth size and will and an almost human sense of vengeance,” as Nathaniel Philbrick wrote in the book that provided the source material for Howard’s Oscar-baiting maritime adventure.

In the Heart of the Sea is based on the true story of the whaling ship Essex, which the massive aquatic mammal made quick work of in 1820. The story, later told to Herman Melville by one of the survivors (guess who?!), served as an inspiration for his classic novel Moby Dick.

In keeping with the bravery of the men who inspired the story,In The Heart of the Sea opens in theaters on December 11 — just a week ahead of Star Wars Episode VII  —The Force Awakens.