Michael B. Jordan & Michael Shannon light it up in Fahrenheit 451 trailer

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

HBO's upcoming adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic novel "Fahrenheit 451" certainly looks quite intense, with some stellar performances from Michael B. Jordan (BLACK PANTHER) and Michael Shannon (THE SHAPE OF WATER). The film depicts a dystopian future in which media is an opiate, history is rewritten, and "firemen" burn books. Directed by Ramin Bahrani (99 HOMES), the film stars Michael B. Jordan as Montag, a young fireman who forsakes his world, battles his mentor, and struggles to regain his humanity. Michael Shannon will play Beatty, Montag’s fireman captain and mentor, with Sofia Boutella (STAR TREK BEYOND) also starring as Clarisse, an informant caught between the competing interests of Montag and Beatty.

It's been decades since the last feature-film adaptation of "Fahrenheit 451," and the stage is certainly set for a modern take on Ray Bradbury's novel. While speaking with reporters at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour last year, director Ramin Bahrani said that although his film will make a few changes, it will be staying true to the novel's central themes.

It was daunting to take on Bradbury because he's such a genius and a legend. Me and so many people love his work. When you do an adaptation, you're going to change things. I knew I would upset somebody. I tried to stay true to the themes, even if I changed certain characters and plotlines. To take them and modernize them. It wasn't easy.

The challenge was so great that at one point he confessed to wanting to call HBO and refund the network's money because he felt he couldn't finish the script, but Bahrani powered through and spoke about the parrallels between the novel and the current state of the world. "I don't want to focus so much on [Trump] because I don't want to excuse the 30 to 40 years prior to that; he's just an exaggeration of it now," Bahrani said. "I don't want us to forget what Bradbury said — that we asked for this. We elected [politicians] over many decades, we're electing this thing in my pocket [pulls out his cellphone]. Between the technological advancements in the last 20 years and politics, Bradbury's biggest concern about the erosion of culture is now."

FAHRENHEIT 451 will debut on HBO on May 19, 2018.