Eddie Redmayne ("The Theory of Everything") plays Lili Elbe, an...

Eddie Redmayne ("The Theory of Everything") plays Lili Elbe, an artist who was one of the first known recipients of gender reassignment surgery, in the early 20th century. "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." actress Alicia Vikander co-stars as her wife in this film inspired by their love story. In theaters Nov. 27. (Credit: Working Title)

The first official U.S. trailer for "The Danish Girl" is now available online, offering a glimpse of Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne as transgender pioneer Lili Elbe.

Elbe was born Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener, a man who became a successful artist in early 20th-Century Denmark and married Gerda Gottlieb (Alicia Vikander, of "Ex Machina"). Wegener became one of the first people to undergo sex-reassignment surgery and become Elbe. "The Danish Girl" is directed by Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech") and based on David Ebershoff's historical novel.

"The Danish Girl" is one of two major releases this year about transgender heroes, along with "About Ray," starring Elle Fanning as a teenage girl trying to become a boy. Both films have sparked pre-release controversy about casting, with critics contending that the central roles should have gone to transgender actors.

Susan Stryker, a transgender professor at the University of Arizona, raised this issue with the Website ThinkProgress. "There are an increasing number of trans actresses who could do just fine," she said in an interview. "And I hope they get the breaks that they deserve. This does seem like a missed opportunity, to not cast a trans person."

"The Danish Girl" is scheduled for release Nov. 27.

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