Ray Bradbury’s 1953 sci-fi novel Fahrenheit 451 depicts a future where media is an opiate, history is outlawed and “firemen” burn books. Book-burning aside, the author wasn’t too far off — which is to say there’s plenty of interesting material for HBO’s upcoming film adaptation.
Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon are attached to star in the film, with Jordan also serving as an executive producer through his company, Outlier Productions. Jordan will play Montag, a young fireman who forsakes his world, battles his mentor and struggles to regain his humanity. Shannon will play Beatty, Montag’s fireman captain and mentor.
Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani, who was first rumored last year to be working on the adaptation, is set to co-write the script with 99 Homes collaborator Amir Naderi. Bahrani will also direct.
Shannon, who starred in 99 Homes and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance, is reunited with Bahrani and Naderi. Recently, Jordan was rumored to be in consideration for the lead role in the possible The Matrix relaunch.
