The first trailer for HBO’s upcoming film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s groundbreaking novel “Fahrenheit 451” is here, and it certainly looks more exciting than high school English class.
This time around, “Black Panther” scene-stealer Michael B. Jordan stars as the increasingly disillusioned Guy Montag, who lives in a dystopian future where books are outlawed and he is tasked with finding and burning them.
“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” his superior, Captain Beatty (Michael Shannon), says in the clip. “News, facts, memoirs, internet of old ― burn it.”
In the trailer, Jordan informs a classroom of children that the written word will one day be erased for good, as he sets fire to just about everything around him. We also get a peek at the futuristic “Blade Runner”-like cityscape, and people in a club wearing virtual-reality headsets.
Because the book came out in 1953, spoiler alerts are a little past due, so expect Jordan’s character to begin to question his role in the oppressive society and to fight back against the government-mandated censorship.
The material was the inspiration for a previous François Truffaut film released in 1966.
Directed by Ramin Bahrani, “Fahrenheit 451” also stars Sofia Boutella and Lilly Singh. The movie is set to debut on HBO in May.