Warner Brothers has released a new poster for Wally Pfister’s Transcendence, complete with a photo of a series of wires dangling from the back of Johnny Depp’s head. The photo is reminiscent of a similar depiction of the wires attached to Keanu Reeve’s head in The Matrix.
In the film, Depp plays Will, a scientist who attempts to invent a machine which can connect artificial intelligence to human emotion. When his experiments become well known, his plans are disarrayed by the interference of anti-technology protestors, and friends, including Max (played by The Avenger’s Paul Bettany) and Evelyn (played by Vicky Christina Barcelona’s Rebecca Hall). As previously discussed in article’s concerning the film’s earlier teasers and theatrical trailer, the film revolves around the singularity, and ultimately portrays the resulting danger of Will’s consciousness being downloaded into a computer.
Although Pfister has worked as the cinematographer for The Dark Knight, Inception, Moneyball, and The Dark Knight Rises, Transcendence is Pfister’s directorial debut.
With the role of Will, Depp portrays a misunderstood character, echoing roles he has played in the past. Similar to his roles in Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Depp once again views life through a unique frame of mind in Transcendence. However, instead of facing the consequences of cutting with scissors, Depp gets ensnarled in conflict as a result of plugging into a computer. The role of a mad scientist contrasts with Depp’s most recent (and often lampooned) role as a Native American warrior in The Lone Ranger.
A new full trailer of Transcendence will be released by Warner Brothers tomorrow at 4:30 PST, and the movie is set for an April 17th release in theaters and IMAX.