Consider it an early Christmas present: the first official images from Edgar Wright’s next film, Baby Driver, have arrived! The project materialized after Wright departed Marvel’s Ant-Man, as he set about crafting an entirely original action crime film with a musical twist. Ansel Elgort stars as the titular getaway driver they call Baby. He suffers from crippling tinnitus that causes a ringing in his ears, and in an effort to drown out the excruciating sound, he listens to music during the getaways. But as crafted by Wright, all of the film’s action is choreographed to the beat of the soundtrack playing in the ears of Elgort’s character—gun shots, footsteps, etc.

As Wright tells EW, he’s had an idea of doing a movie along these lines for a while now:

“I always wanted to do an action movie that was powered by music. It’s something that’s very much a part of my previous films and I thought of this idea of how to take that a stage further by having a character who listens to music the entire time. So, you have this young getaway driver who has to soundtrack his entire existence, particularly the bank robberies and fast getaways that come afterwards.”

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Image via TriStar Pictures

Wright declined to go into specifics about the songs that play throughout the film, but he did tease that there are about 35 tracks in the movie that range “from the very famous to more obscure,” adding, “It’s supposed to reflect the character’s extremely eclectic taste in music.”

Indeed, many of Wright’s films have been driven by music, either implicitly or explicitly. Even the sound design of something like Spaced stands out, and Wright refined his approach to blending digetic and non-digetic sound in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, building to a culmination with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. One could go so far as to describe Scott Pilgrim as a musical given that music plays such an integral role in that film—especially the action sequences.

But the sound isn’t the only reason to be excited about Baby Driver. Wright put together a phenomenal ensemble cast that includes Lily James, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, Jon Bernthal, Eiza González, and Kevin Spacey, and he’s reuniting with cinematographer Bill Pope. Indeed, as excited as I am to see folks like Hamm and Spacey spouting Wright’s dialogue, I’ll admit I’m just as eager (if not moreso) to see what Pope has put together. The director of photography behind the Matrix films and Speed Racer first collaborated with Wright on Scott Pilgrim to spectacular results, and the two worked together once more on The World’s End as Pope brought a new, dynamic vibe to the unofficial Cornetto Trilogy. He most recently shot The Jungle Book and the pilot for the AMC series Preacher, but his collaborations with Wright thus far have been downright magical, and I can’t wait to see the kind of music they make with a heist film.

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Image via TriStar Pictures

In speaking with EW, Wright adds that he’s treading new tonal territory with Baby Driver, as the film is more of a thriller than a comedy:

“It’s an action crime film. It’s funny in places but it’s not a comedy. It gets genuinely tense and threatening. That was actually a fun thing for me — to do dramatic or thriller scenes which just up the ante.”

Wright is one of the most exciting filmmakers working today, so any chance to see new material from him is reason to celebrate. That his next film happens to be a unique, music-driven action-thriller makes it that much sweeter.

Baby Driver opens in theaters on August 11, 2017.

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Image via Focus Features

Here's the official Baby Driver synopsis:

A talented, young getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. When he meets the girl of his dreams (Lily James), Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.