Babylon: Brad Pitt is ‘unrecognisable’ in first footage from Damien Chazelle film

Brad Pitt is reportedly unrecognisable as American silent movie star John Gilbert in new footage fromLa La Land director Damien Chazelle’s forthcoming Babylon.

The never-before-seen clips, which were presented at CinemaCon on Thursday (28 April), mostly depicted Pitt wearing a tank, white boxers, and a large prosthetic nose.

Other than Oscar-winner Pitt, the star-studded cast of Chazelle’s highly-anticipated next inludes Diego Calva, Margot Robbie, Max Minghella, Lukas Haas, Spike Jonze, Samara Weaving, Jean Smart, Tobey Maguire, Olivia Wilde and the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s bassist Flea.

While Calva, who appeared in season three of Narcos: Mexico, portrays a young Mexican actor determined to make it in Hollywood, Robbie steps into the shows of Twenties icon Clara Bow. Maguire, who also serves as executive producer, has been confirmed to play the role of iconic funnyman Charlie Chaplin in Chazelle’s first directorial project since 2018’s First Man about Neil Armstrong.

Robbie ‘s forthcoming portrayal of Barbie in Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s story about Mattel’s fashion-forward doll was also recently teased at CinemaCon.

Attendees at the cinema owners’ convention, being held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, reportedly said the footage from Babylon “looked fantastic” and that Pitt was “unrecognisable” as Gilbert, who is also remembered as Hollywood’s Great Lover.

The period film, which is produced by Paramount Pictures, chronicles the American movie industry’s transition from the silent film era to the talkies in the late 1920s. The plot is, however, being kept under wraps.

Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins praised Babylon as a “bold and beautful masterpiece” from Chazelle.

The 37-year-old filmmaker became the youngest person to win the Oscar for Best Director in 2016 for the Emma Stone-Ryan Gosling musical La La Land, which earned both critical and commercial success.

Babylon is scheduled for a limited release on Christmas (25 December) before the film’s wide release on 6 January 2023.