Screen Gems has released the first trailer for the adaptation of Cassandra Clare‘s young adult novel The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.  The story follows Clary Fray (Lily Collins), a teenage girl who discovers that she’s descended from a sect of half-angel warriors who protect the world from demons.  As a teen drama with ties to the occult, The Mortal Instruments will draw comparisons to Twilight.  But the trailer—specifically the sword fights and flamethrowers within— suggest more ass-kicking.  There is a big world and dense mythology here to explore, and the visuals help sell it better than the synopsis ever could.  It helps when you have Mad Men‘s eloquent Jared Harris to deliver the exposition in what sure looks like the “Giles” role.

Jamie Campbell Bower, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, CCH Pounder, and Kevin Zegers also star.  Directed by Harald Zwart (The Karate Kid), The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones opens August 23, 2013.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

The first image has been released from the upcoming adaptation of Cassandra Clare‘s young adult novel Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.  The film follows Clary Fray (Lily Collins), a teenage girl who discovers that she’s descended from a sect of half-angel warriors who protect the world from demons.  In this image, Clary is wielding a rune—a defensive magical symbol used by the “Shadowhunters” (the name the half-angel warriors use even though “Demonpunchers” would have been better).  The Shadowhunters draw the runes themselves, and in this scene Clary is using her first rune to fight off an enemy.  “It was very reassuring to come on set and see everything covered in runes and replicated down to the last detail,” Clare tells EW.  “The movie was definitely made by people who love the books and wanted to do right by them.”

If you’re a fan of the books, let us know in the comments section what you think about the first look at the film.  The movie also stars Jamie Campbell Bower, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, CCH Punder, Kevin Zegers, and Jared Harris.  Mortal Instruments: City of Bones opens August 23, 2013. [Update: The first poster has also been unveiled and is now included after the jump.]