HBO has unveiled the first image from their upcoming Fahrenheit 451 TV movie, featuring Michael B. Jordan as Montag and Michael Shannon as Beatty. This highly-anticipated adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s novel is currently in production, although HBO has not unveiled a premiere date at this time. The cast also includes Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Millie, Sophia Boutella (The Mummy) as Clarisse and Lily Singh (Bad Moms) as Raven, although it is unclear when we’ll get our first look at the rest of the cast.
Based on Ray Bradbury’s classic dystopian novel which depicts a future where media is an opiate, history is outlawed and “firemen” burn books, Fahrenheit 451 follows Montag, a young fireman who forsakes his world, battles his mentor Beatty and struggles to regain his humanity. While this HBO movie will be the first attempt at adapting the iconic novel in the 21st Century, it will not be the first time this story has been adapted. The original Fahrenheit 451 big screen movie debuted in 1966, starring Oskar Werner, Julie Christie and directed by iconic French filmmaker François Truffaut.
The book was originally published in 1953, with the title referring to the temperature at which paper catches fire and burns. The novel is considered one of Ray Bradbury’s finest works, although it was often at the forefront of controversy revolving around banned books. In 1967, the book was subject to “expurgation” by its publisher, Ballatine Books, for the release of a new Bal-Hi edition aimed at high school students. Words such as “hell”, “damn”, and “abortion” were removed from this edition, while over 75 other passages were modified. The publisher was originally selling both uncensored and censored versions of the book, but in 1973, the publisher was only selling the censored books, until Ray Bradbury was made aware of this practice six years later in 1979, with the original version being sold once again in 1980.
The film is directed by Ramin Bahrani, who also serves as executive producer with Sarah Green, Michael B. Jordan, Alan Gasmer and Peter Jaysen, with David Coatsworth producing. Ramin Bahrani and Amir Naderi co-wrote the script based on Ray Bradbury’s novel. No release date has been given at this time, and it hasn’t been confirmed how long production is expected to last on this highly-anticipated adaptation. This project reunites Michael Shannon with director Ramin Bahrani, who recently worked together on the critically-acclaimed drama 99 Homes, which also starred Andrew Garfield. Michael Shannon most recently starred in Nocturnal Animals and he will next be seen in The Shape of Water.
Michael B. Jordan has been rumored to be eyed for a reboot of The Matrix, but there have not been any concrete developments on that project at this time. The young actor will next be seen as the villainous Erik Killmonger in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, which is slated for release on February 16, 2018. There has also been talk that he will reprise his role as Adonis Johnson in an upcoming sequel to the 2015 Rocky spin-off Creed, which Sylvester Stallone is reportedly writing. Take a look at this new image from Fahrenheit 451 below.
