Vanity Fair has unveiled a first look at Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi's upcoming adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s best-selling sci-fi novel, Klara and the Sun.
The stills feature Wednesday star Jenna Ortega as the eponymous solar-powered Android, Mia Tharia (September Says) as the seriously ill teenager Klara is assigned to tutor, Josie, and Amy Adams (Man of Steel) as her mother, Chrissie.
The story takes place in a dystopian future in which some children are genetically engineered ("lifted") for enhanced academic ability. As schooling is provided entirely at home by on-screen tutors, opportunities for socialization are limited, and parents who can afford it often buy their children Androids as companions.
The book is narrated by one such Artificial Friend (AF) called Klara.
"From the window of the store in which she is for sale, Klara learns about the world outside and watches the Sun, which she always refers to as "he" and treats as a living entity. Klara is chosen by 14-year-old Josie, who lives with her mother in a remote region of prairie. Soon after joining them, Klara learns that the lifting process carries some risk: Josie's older sister Sal had earlier died, and Josie herself is gravely ill."
The project was developed at 3000 Films, with Dahvi Waller penning the original draft of the screenplay. David Heyman produced for Heyday Films, with Garrett Basch and Waititi also on board as producers. Heyday’s Jeffrey Clifford and Rosie Alison brought the project to Heyday.
“She’s incredibly advanced and intelligent and mature and quite intimidating when you talk to her,” Waititi says of his decision to cast Ortega. “She had sort of made me feel uncomfortable and a little bit out of my depth, and I thought, Oh, that’s a good challenge”
The first trailer for Klara and the Sun debuted during CinemaCon in April, but has yet to be released online.
“This is a hopeful story about friendship and connection at a time when technology makes us feel so alone,” TriStar Pictures president Nicole Brown told attendees at the time.
Have any of you read the book? Check out the full interview and the images at the link below, and let us know in the comments.