The first trailer for the 2008 remake of the 1951 classic science fiction movie, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (2008)  has surfaced online.  The remake stars Keneau Reeves as Klaatu, an alien who arrives on planet Earth to issue a warning to our civilization about the consequences of our actions.  The movie is directed by Scott Derrickson; it co-stars Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, and Kathy Bates and will be released in theaters on December 12, 2008. A few days ago, a movie poster (above) believed to be official, also surfaced on the Internet.

Presently, not much is known about the movie, but this new trailer looks exciting and we hope the remake will do justice to the original 1951 The Day the Earth which starred Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal and was directed by Robert Wise. Keanu Reeves was interviewed earlier this year and he discussed how 2008 movie’s theme will be a departure from the Cold War theme of the 1951 movie.

With mankind’s first uncertain steps into the atomic age comes a warning from beyond the stars: cease your fighting and your wars or you will be destroyed. “The decision rests with you,” Klaatu says by way of farewell at the end of “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” a classic of Cold War science-fiction from 1951.

Fifty years later and Klaatu has a new message for humanity, but one with equally dire consequences should we choose to ignore it, Keanu Reeves, who is playing the alien in Scott Derrickson’s upcoming remake, told MTV News.

“The first one was borne out of the cold war and nuclear détente. Klaatu came and was saying cease and desist with your violence. If you can’t do it yourselves we’re going to do it. That was the film of that day,” Reeves explained. “The version I was just working on, instead of being man against man, it’s more about man against nature. My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I’m a friend to the earth.”

Source: Keanu Reeves Brings Different Message With Him In ‘Day The Earth Stood Still’

Via: The Day the Earth Stood Still First Trailer

Here is the 1951 “The Day the Earth Stood Still” trailer.

Video: “The Day the Earth Stood Still” Trailer (2008)