Consider this an easy win for anyone who has ever uttered the words, “The book was better”: a film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s superlative sci-fi classic, Fahrenheit 451, is in development at HBO Films, as The Wrap first reported. 99 Homes filmmaker Ramin Bahrani will write, direct and executive produce the project.
Bahrani’s take on Fahrenheit 451 will be the second time the 1953 novel has been rendered in film form. Francois Truffaut took the first crack at adapting Bradbury’s book, bringing his version to screens in 1966. This is also not the first Bradbury book Hollywood has attempted to adapt—film versions of The Martian Chronicles, Dandelion Wine and From the Dust Returned have all been reported to be in production at one point or another.
Titled for the temperature at which paper burns, Fahrenheit 451 is set in a dystopian future where reading is outlawed and firemen, like protagonist Guy Montag, are tasked with burning books. Bradbury’s masterpiece, one of sci-fi’s most acclaimed works, is a chilling story of censorship that still resonates decades after its publication.
Fahrenheit 451 made our list of books to read before their film adaptations are released for a reason, so, you know … do that. Bahrani, whom the late Roger Ebert called “the new great American director,” has his work cut out for him.