With Wally Pfister’s upcoming directorial debut Transcendence opening April 18th, Warner Bros. has provided us with seven clips and thirteen minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the movie.  The film revolves around a group of scientists trying to build the first self-aware supercomputer, and when lead researcher Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) becomes the target of anti-technology extremists, he unexpectedly becomes a participant in his own transcendence.  Pfister has done excellent work as a cinematographer in recent years with films like The Dark Knight, Inception, and Moneyball, but the big question is can he make the leap to the director's chair.  So far the marketing materials have promised Transcendence is a smart, sci-fi-tinged thriller, and I'm very curious what audiences are going to think.

Hit the jump to watch the clips and behind-the-scenes footage.  The film also stars Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman, Cole Hauser, and Clifton Collins Jr.

Here’s the official synopsis for Transcendence:

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him. However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.