The first trailer for Gone Girl, the highly anticipated new movie directed by David Fincher and produced by Reese, was released earlier this week, and you can watch it below. Also within this post is a link to a video of Reese talking about producing the movie during last years Women In Hollywood event, and an article from E!Online with the rundown on the movie/book.

Everything You Need to Know About Gone Girl to Truly Appreciate the Just Released Trailer

So the first official trailer for Gone Girl was released yesterday, and people went nuts for it. But perhaps you’re a bit out of the loop and have no idea why everyone straight-up had an Internet meltdown when the footage went live. It’s just another David Fincher film, right? Sure, it’s got Ben Affleck, but what film doesn’t? Why are people making such a big deal about it?

Come join us in the loop over here if you’re curious as to why the Gone Girl trailer has been lighting up the Internet since Monday afternoon. Here’s everything you need to know about what makes this movie one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year, plus a dive into how and why the trailer has whipped the fans into a frenzy:

Books, Y’all: Gone Girl is an adaptation from the 2012 best-selling novel of the same name, written by Gillian Flynn. People went crazy for it. In fact, if you asked anyone that year for a book recommendation, they would shout “Gone Girl!” faster than you could say “please don’t shout at me.”

Basic Synopsis: The plot is very complex, much too complex to sum up in a couple sentences, but basically the book revolves around Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy goes missing on their five-year wedding anniversary. It’s a suspenseful crime story, sure, but it also takes an in-depth look at relationships and the notion that we never truly know the people we fall in love with.

Twisty Turns: We obviously are not going to tell you about the twists in the book, but just know that the second half of Gone Girl will give a new meaning to the phrase “holy s–t, I did not see that coming! What in the hell is going to happen now?” And that is a phrase you will probably use verbatim several times while reading about Amy and Nick.

The Adaptation: When such a popular book is being made into a feature film, the fan base is going to watch the development like a hawk. Reese Witherspoon’s production company bought the film rights, which made some people worried because they assumed she would play Amy. And the popular consensus was that she was just not right for the part. Which brings us to…

Casting Qualms: When Ben Affleck was cast in the lead role of Nick Dunne, people had mixed reactions. Personally, we’re big Ben fans (the actor, not the giant clock). Yep, we even saw Daredevil. So, we might be a little biased concerning the casting. Nick is handsome and charming, but readers (and viewers) are supposed to be wary of trusting him, so the actor needs to be able to portray a dark side and have a certain edge to his personality. We think Ben’s more than capable of all that. However, some fans were on the brink of rioting over the idea of Ben playing Nick.

As for Amy, it was rumored that Emily Blunt was the favorite to play her, and most people were very excited about that. Amy has to be sweet and manipulative, smart and scary all at once, and Emily has the chops for that type of character. But it was English actress Rosamund Pike (Pride and Prejudice, Fracture, Jack Reacher) who nabbed the coveted role. She’s not the biggest name in Hollywood (although she’s been in plenty of films), so a lot of people are saving their judgment until they see her in the film.

The Trailer: As with any highly anticipated film, every photo released and every clip posted is intensely scrutinized by both fans and critics. So far, every piece of marketing for Gone Girl has been received with praise and excitement, and it’s only upped the bar of expectation for the release in October.

– Read more at E!Online