The Boston Marathon bombing will be the focus of two upcoming movies, the first of which has just revealed its trailer.

Patriots Day stars Mark Wahlberg as Tommy Saunders, a police sergeant at the centre of the terrorist attack that occurred in April 2013, a day that saw three civilians killed and 264 others injured. The character is a composite of various people involved that day. Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, JK Simmons and Michelle Monaghan also star.

The film reunites Wahlberg with Deepwater Horizon director Peter Berg. While the fact-based disaster drama received positive reviews, it failed to connect with audiences and made just $20m in its first weekend.

“I think police, of late, are getting too much of a bad rap,” Berg said to the Boston Globe. “Several questionable – or pretty clearly bad – actions by cops are tarnishing the entire profession. But what happened in this city in the 105 hours after the explosions is an example of the very best of law enforcement, and without being cliche or overly simplistic, I think we can explore that in this film.”

It’s the first of two films set to be released about the events, with Jake Gyllenhaal starring as Jeff Bauman in Stronger, hitting cinemas next year. Bauman lost both of his legs in the bombing and the film will detail his adjustment to a new life. A third film was also announced in 2014, originally set to star Casey Affleck, but the star has since dropped out.

Patriots Day will open on 21 December in major cities, including Boston, and nationwide on 13 January.