Tom Hanks Gives Emma Watson and John Boyega Creepy NSA Vibes in 'The Circle' Trailer

Technology looks scary as hell in the first trailer for 'The Circle.'

December 6, 2016

Technology's promise of a better future for all has been tainted with something sinister in the new trailer for James Ponsoldt's The Circle. The sci-fi drama, an adaptation of Dave Eggers' 2013 novel of the same name, stars Tom Hanks as tech visionary and The Circle founder Eamon Bailey. As Bailey tells us in this first peek at the early 2017 favorites contender, "knowing everything" is what The Circle is all about.

"Bailey's notion is that knowing is good, and knowing everything is better," Ponsoldt toldUSA Today Tuesday. "He believes all experiences should be available to everyone, not only the privileged or people who can afford to them. He’s deeply interested in technology that can make people share all human experiences with everyone. He’s a boundary pusher, even boundary destroyer."

Hanks is joined by Star Wars: The Force Awakens'John Boyega and Beauty and the Beast star Emma Watson, who plays recent grad Mae Holland. Mae gets a glimpse of modern celebrity when she takes a spin on The Circle's revolutionary SeeChange technology, which transmits real-time video from one's eyeballs to millions of total strangers across the globe.

"She becomes a pseudo-celebrity with her superpower, that she's natural, relatable and willing to speak freely about everything in her life," Ponsoldt explained of Mae's journey. "But it gets to the point where it's almost a religion and then a glass prison of celebrity." Boyega, meanwhile, plays the programmer behind the technology who is growing increasingly disillusioned by its potential damages.

The Circle, also starring Patton Oswalt and Karen Gillan, hits theaters April 28, 2017.