After attempting to get to the screen for a many number of years, Lois Lowry‘s middle school staple The Giver will finally be making its way to theaters this summer and now our first look at footage has arrived. Led by newcomer Brenton Thwaites, he plays Jonas, a teenager living in a seemingly utopian world before that soon crumbles when he learns about his community’s dark past.
The first trailer, attached to Divergent this week, sets up a promising scenario, even if its design looks a bit too much like recent adaptations we’ve seen; then again, that could just be YA burn-out. Check it out below for the film also starring Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, two of our main draws for this adaptation, which comes from director Phillip Noyce (Salt, Patriot Games).
The haunting story of THE GIVER centers on Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. The film is based on Lois Lowry’s beloved young adult novel of the same name, which was the winner the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
The Giver opens on August 15th, 2014.