One of the most anticipated movies of the year just got a new trailer.  Whereas the first trailer all but counted on a viewer’s familiarity with the book, this new version offers a more extended look at the upcoming movie and fills in many of the plot details for the uninitiated.  Ben Affleck stars as “the most hated man in America”, when his wife – played by Rosamund Pike, pictured above – goes missing on their anniversary and all signs point to him being guilty of murdering her.

In addition to being based on the wildly popular bestselling novel by Gillian Flynn, one of the reasons there is so much buzz about this movie is that it was directed by David Fincher.  In fact, one look at the new trailer and this fact is plainly obvious for anyone familiar with his movies, as it incorporates the same visual style and dark themes.  Fincher fanboys will definitely recognize the work of Jeff Cronenweth, a regular Fincher collaborator, and the director of photography behind The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network, and Fight Club.  Flynn adapted her own novel, and interestingly enough, as reported here earlier, changed the ending for the movie at Fincher’s direction.

One thing in this new trailer that should feel familiar to fans of the novel is the voice-over by Pike, as Affleck’s missing wife.  The novel notably featured two narrators, alternating between the POV of the husband and his missing wife, whose account of things was told through her diary entries.  It appears as though this style may have at least been partly retained in the movie, as several times in this trailer we get snippets of Pike’s voice-over playing against the images onscreen.

A piece of controversy that has stayed with the movie since its announcement has been the casting of Affleck in the lead role.  Though respected as a director, Affleck has rightly received criticism throughout his career for his limited emotional range and often wooden performances.  It’s perhaps no coincidence then that Fincher chose to cast the very divisive actor in a role designed to make the audience feel conflicted over whether or not they like the character and think he is guilty of murder.  Though the brief scenes in this trailer don’t exactly scream out that Affleck has upped his game in any serious way, Fincher’s casting of him in this role may just prove to be savvy move.

We also get much more extended looks at the rest of the interesting cast, which includes Neil Patrick Harris (A Million Ways to Die in the West), Tyler Perry (?!?!) (Alex Cross), Kim Dickens (The Blind Side), Sela Ward (The Guardian), and Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous).  Fox will release Gone Girl on October 3rd, the same weekend that Fincher’s The Social Network was released back in 2010.  You can check out the new trailer below: