One of Hollywood’s most underrated actors who seems to pop up in all the best underrated films, Michael Shannon and Creed actor, Michael B. Jordan are teaming up to join HBO’s Fahrenheit 451. It will be an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel, and will follow the 1966 movie of the same name from filmmaker François Truffaut which starred Julie Christie.
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In the Bradbury’s novel, its reader is presented with a future American society in which books are outlawed and so-called Fireman burns any that is found. In a 1956 interview, Bradbury stated he wrote Fahrenheit 451 because of his concerns at the time (during the McCarthy era) about the threat of book burning in the United States. In later years, he described the book as a commentary on how mass media reduces interest in reading literature. It’s not hard to see why the relevance of those themes today.
Shannon is set to play the role of Beatty, a Fireman captain and mentor to Guy Montag (a man who once loved to read but has since come to hate books due to the less than pleasant content), who will be played by Jordan. Montag is a young fireman who goes up against his Mentor Beatty as he questions his own life to gain control of his own humanity. The idea of another remake has been kicking around for some time and even had Hacksaw Ridge director Mel Gibson attached at one point.
Ramin Bahrani, who has previously worked with Shannon on the film 99 Homes, is set to take the helm as well as co-write the screenplay alongside, Iranian filmmaker, Amir Naderi. Bahrani is also down to produce alongside Michael B. Jordan, Sarah Green, Alan Gasmer and Peter Jaysen all serving as executive producers.
