The first trailer for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus explains little more about the plot behind Heath Ledger's final bow. But it does offer glimpses of the flying jellyfish, neon motels, and Christopher Plummer-shaped balloons filling Gilliam's world.
In the film, Christopher Plummer plays Dr. Parnassus, a traveling showman who, a thousand years ago made a deal with the Devil: Parnassus could live forever, but any children he had would become property of the Devil upon their sixteenth birthday. As Parnassus' daughter Valentina approaches her sixteenth birthday, the Devil returns to collect. Ledger plays Tony, a mysterious outsider who suddenly joins the troupe and arouses Parnassus' suspicions.
The trailer takes us inside Parnassus' Imaginarium, a magical mirror that transports people to strange and surreal worlds. We also get a look at Tony's transformations after Ledger's untimely death led to Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law being cast as Tony's additional forms. It's visually striking, to be sure, but we'll have to wait to see if it all adds up to a movie.