We recently got the first photos from the set of The Great Gatsby showing Leonardo DiCaprio looking younger than ever, cruising around in a classic car with Tobey Maguire riding shotgun.

With production now underway, Collider report that the official synopsis for Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s brilliant novel has been released, along with a promise to stay true to Fitzgerald’s story from the director himself.

““The Great Gatsby” follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.”

So far, so good. I admit that it’s been a few years since I last read The Great Gatsby, but if I remember correctly, though Nick is indeed the narrator of the novel, telling us Gatsby’s story, I don’t think he is actually writing the story as the novel progresses. So it will be interesting to see if this minor change has been made, as the final sentence of this synopsis might suggest.

It’s also nice to hear Luhrmann’s reassuring promise to do Fitzgerald’s story justice, and I sincerely believe he’ll stand by his word and make a brilliant film.

“Fitzgerald loved the movies and was a passionate believer in the power of cinema. “The Great Gatsby” has been adapted for the screen no less than four times. Fitzgerald’s story defies time and geography. The vision and the goal of our remarkable cast and creatives is to do justice to the deftness of Fitzgerald’s telling, and illuminate its big ideas and humanity. This is our challenge and our adventure.”

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the leading role, with Tobey Maguire taking the role of Nick Carraway, Joel Edgerton and Carey Mulligan playing Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke playing Myrtle and George Wilson, and Elizabeth Debicki playing Jordan Baker, Nick’s love interest.

Luhrmann has shown us with films like Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet that he is incredibly capable of bringing classic stories to life so brilliantly, vividly, and successfully, and I fully anticipate that his take on The Great Gatsby is going to do the same. The novel is certainly a classic, but I think Luhrmann’s vision of it really will do it justice like he says.

One of the things I am most curious about this project is the fact that it will be in 3-D, because I can’t necessarily see a need for it to be in 3-D. It could be that Luhrmann is a big fan of the technology, and he wants to show that it isn’t just action films that benefit from it. Whatever the reason, I am very much looking forward to seeing this project when it’s completed, and can’t wait for its release at the end of next year.