A childlike robot is the eponymous hero of South African director Neill Blomkamp's latest film, Chappie, which also stars Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel, Sigourney Weaver and South African rap duo Die Antwoord.
The trailer, which debuted Tuesday, portrays Chappie as a curious, artificially intelligent robot pursued by a villainous Jackman.
Blomkamp, who directed 2013's Elysium and 2009's socially conscious alien thriller, District 9, told Empire last year that he thought of Chappie as a "ridiculous robot character."
"Chappie is the imagery, because I think I'm a visual person first, of this ridiculous robot character. It's much more comedy based, and in an unusual setting," he said.
Here's the synopsis:
Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings – some good, some bad – and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man. But there's one thing that makes Chappie different from anyone else: he is a robot. The first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. His life, his story, will change the way the world looks at robots and humans forever.
Chappie hits theaters in March, 2015.