‘Selfless’ Trailer: Ben Kingsley Turns Into Ryan Reynolds

The first Self/Less trailer proposes a question that many science fiction movies have asked in the past. If you could have a second chance at life in a new body, would you take it? From John Frankenheimer’s Seconds to James Cameron’s Avatar, this is well-travelled territory for the genre. But in an age where scientists are actually studying how we can transfer our consciousness into computers (by 2045, no less), this kind of sci-fi plot suddenly seems a whole lot creepier.

Self/Less stars Ben Kingsley (he of the great acting and the easy paycheck) as a rich man with terminal cancer. However, a meeting with a creepy scientist (Matthew Goode) grants him an exciting/terrifying new opportunity. Through a radical new procedure, his mind can be transferred to a new, young body, allowing him to cheat death and live on. He goes through with it, ends up looking like Ryan Reynolds, and, of course, quickly learns that this kind of mad science always comes at a cost. Mayhem, murder and mystery ensues.

And it all looks pretty good. This isn’t exactly brand new ground for director Tarsem Singh, who previously directed The Cell, another science fiction movie all about the mysteries of the human mind, but its nice to see him return to the genre after Mirror Mirror. Although the trailer doesn’t showcase the visual flair of The Fall or Immortals, it looks compelling enough, especially since this is our one and only chance to see Ryan Reynolds play Ben Kingsley.

Here’s the official synopsis:

In this provocative psychological science fiction thriller, an extremely wealthy man (Academy Award® Winner Ben Kingsley) dying from cancer undergoes a radical medical procedure that transfers his consciousness into the body of a healthy young man (Ryan Reynolds). But all is not as it seems when he starts to uncover the mystery of the body’s origin and the organization that will kill to protect its cause.

Self/Less is set to open in theaters on July 31.