“We are not born equal, so we must be made equal by the fire,” is one of the many unsettling lines from HBO’s new teaser trailer for Fahrenheit 451. Based on Ray Bradbury’s critically acclaimed 1953 novel by the same name, Fahrenheit 451 is set in a hopeless dystopian world where knowledge is considered dangerous, thus all evidence of it is burned.
Black Panther’s troubled villain, Michael B. Jordan, plays a firefighter named Guy Montag. Although his job is to find and burn all books, the story centers on Montag beginning to question his actions after meeting a young woman, and eventually starts to rebel against the oppressive, censored society.
In the teaser trailer, we’re shown a glimpse of the eerie world, filled with cold hues of blue and the stark contrast of fire, everywhere. For a brief moment, we see the futuristic cityscape and citizens wearing virtual reality headsets. As the word “teaser” would suggest, we aren’t given much to judge this dystopian future by. However, what really makes the trailer stand out are the chilling lines said by Captain Beatty (Michael Shannon) and Montag, paired with the intense fire scenes. Ending with Montag’s exceptional delivery of his line, “I want to burn,” we’re left on the edge of our seats, and ready to see if the film adaptation can live up to Bradbury’s classic novel.
As of now, HBO hasn’t set an official release date, but you can expect Fahrenheit 451 sometime in May. To learn more about the film, visit HBO’s website.
