Andy and Lana Wachowski as well as Tom Tykwer forwent starting the marketing campaign for their Cloud Atlas with a standard teaser trailer. Instead, the trio decided to release a massive six-minute preview, in order to better capture the extensive nature of their project - an adaptation of David Mitchell's challenging tome about the interconnectivity of human existence - which shatters the divides of history, ethnicity, and culture in the process.

Warner Bros. has since unveiled a Cloud Atlas trailer that will actually screen in theaters - and although it falls far short of conveying the film's majestic scope as well as its extended predecessor (as you would expect), it should still leave the average moviegoer intrigued to see more.

Cloud Atlas is composed of six separate storylines set in different time periods, ranging from the 19th century on through to the 1930s and '70s, as well as a dark-shimmering future where clone technology has been (almost) perfected - going on through to a post-apocalyptic world, where scattered human cannibal tribes and a higher-advanced species struggle to live in harmony. Mitchell's novel suggests the characters in each narrative thread are, in essence, the same souls re-incarnated throughout the ages. The film adaptation makes that idea all the more literal by having cast members tackle multiple roles.

The official Cloud Atlas trailer is visually-stunning, but paints a vague portrait of what the film is about (compared to its predecessor). Readers, if you have not already, you owe it to yourselves to watch the six-minute promo (which we have included below, for your viewing pleasure):

The Wachowskis have favored a go-big-or-go-home approach to filmmaking since the Matrix trilogy, carrying on through to their visually-bombastic live-action Speed Racer movie four years ago. Similarly, Tykwer doesn't shy away from tackling projects that are challenging from a narrative perspective - be it Run Lola Run, his adaptation of Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, or even his "Faubourg Saint-Denis" segment in Paris, je t'aime (Paris, I Love You).

As a result, the directors' collective filmography ranges from game-changers like the original Matrix - to the polarizing Perfume - and down to a madcap project like Speed Racer (love it or hate it, it's certainly... inspired). Cloud Atlas, for all we know, could land anywhere on that quality scale; no matter what, though, this film seems destined to go down as one of the most memorable cinematic experiences in recent times (for good or bad).

Cloud Atlas stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, Zhou Xun, Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant. It was written for the screen and directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski as well as Tom Tykwer (be sure to check out this video featuring commentary from the three).

Look for Cloud Atlas to open in U.S. theaters on October 26th, 2012.

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Source: iTunes Movie Trailers