Movies KJ Apa survives in a dystopian L.A. in first trailer for COVID thriller Songbird By Ruth Kinane Ruth Kinane Ruth is a correspondent who covers TV shows such as Younger, Jersey Shore and The Affair. She will write you a drinking game for any show you want and will remain loyal to Britney Spears no matter how many fashion shows she posts on Instagram. EW's editorial guidelines Published on October 29, 2020 12:00PM EDT Just when you thought the pandemic couldn't get any worse, some folks in Hollywood imagined it so. On Thursday, the first trailer for COVID thriller Songbird dropped, putting us in a world were the coronavirus has mutated and become a far more deadly virus. The upcoming film stars Riverdale's KJ Apa as Nico, a courier whose COVID immunity means he spends his days biking Los Angeles and working the frontline. He soon falls in love with Sara (Sofia Carson), who is stuck at home due to the four-year lockdown. Despite having never met due to the strict quarantine protocols, Nico and Sara's relationship gives them hope and keeps them going through the bleakest of times — even if they are separated by a door for the most part. "It was strange, " Apa tells EW. "I haven't really done a project where I have spent so little time with my costar, but it really worked for the movie." Set in 2024, the movie's first trailer sees a city with an enforced curfew and martial law, where citizens must thermal scan themselves on their phone to prove they aren't infected. If an anomaly is detected, armed sanitation guards descend on their homes to take them to quarantine camps. And if they attempt to leave their homes in the meantime, they'll be shot on sight. When Sara seems to have become infected, Nico goes to all lengths to try and reach her before she is seized. Songbird was the first movie to go into production in L.A. since the city shutdown in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. With safety measures in place and frequent testing, the cast and crew were able to complete the movie safely — and even noticed a perk or two of working in a relatively empty version of the city. "We were able to get the most insane footage that even if I'd had a $100 million, I couldn't have gotten," director Adam Mason tells EW. "You could never just shut down downtown L.A. like that." Produced by Michael Bay and Adam Goodman, Songbird also stars Demi Moore, Bradley Whitford, Paul Walter Hauser, Craig Robinson, Peter Stormare and Alexandra Daddario. Watch the trailer above. Related content: Get your first look at pandemic thriller Songbird, starring KJ Apa Watch Demi Moore in first teaser for dystopian series Brave New World Sabrina showrunner hints the now-canceled Part 5 would've been Riverdale crossover