After what feels like ages, we finally have our first good look at HBO’s movie adaptation of Ray Bradbuy’s iconic novel Fahrenheit 451, and unsurprisingly, it’s bringing the heat. Literally.
Set in a society where the written word is outlawed, Fahrenheit 451 follows fireman Guy Montag (played by Michael B. Jordan in the movie), a man tasked with the fiery eradication of outlawed books, who finds himself slowly disillusioned with the dystopian society he’s helped proliferate by enforcing the book ban.
Most of this first trailer naturally covers the parts of the novel where Montag is still part of the Firemen, as Montag’s boss Captain Beatty (Michael Shannon) waxes lyrical about the fire making society equal, complete with the now all-too-relevant nods to the “danger” of things like news and facts.
But we do get a few glimpses of the film’s futuristic take on the world—with Bradbury’s critique of empty mass media consumption envisioned as… VR clubs?—as well as few hints to Montag’s eventual path in the book. So far, it’s looking like a pretty intriguing (and worryingly timely) take on a groundbreaking piece of American literature. Fahrenheit 451, which also stars Sofia Boutella and Martin Donovan, is set to premiere on HBO this May.
