First Official Image of Nicholas Hoult as a Zombie in Jonathan Levine‘s WARM BODIES [Updated]

While Hollywood’s zombie obsession has tapered off a bit, it’s far from dead. Though some of the recent zombie output suggests profit rather than creative fascination is the motivating factor, director Jonathan Levine’s (50/50) adaptation of Isaac Marion‘s novel Warm Bodies sounds like a wholly intriguing and incredibly fun zombie pic.  The “zombie love story” stars Nicholas Hoult as “R”, a zombie who falls in love with Julie (Teresa Palmer) after he eats her boyfriend’s brains and absorbs his memories.  It’s a really cool premise anchored by a stellar supporting cast (Rob Corddry, John Malkovich) and an exciting young filmmaker.

The first official image of Hoult as the zombified “R” has been released, and it’s pretty great.  The look is different enough from the gruesome zombies of The Walking Dead to appear fresh, yet still maintains the vacant stare and pale skin that says “I hunger for brains.”  The stain is a nice touch as well.  Hit the jump to check out the image.  Warm Bodies opens August 10th.

[Update: Summit has released three more images, now included after the jump.]

Click here to see more images from Warm Bodies.

Here’s the full synopsis for Warm Bodies:

Zombies love people, especially their brains. But R (Nicholas Hoult) is different. He’s alive inside, unlike the hundreds of other grunting, drooling undead—all victims of a recent plague that drove the remaining survivors into a heavily guarded city. Now the Zombies roam about an airport terminal, searching for human prey and living in fear of the vicious Boneys, the next undead incarnation.

One day, R and his best friend M lumber toward the city in search of food. There, R first sets his eyes on JULIE (Teresa Palmer), a beautiful human. Determined to save her—first from the other Zombies and then from the Boneys—R hides her in his home, a cluttered 747 aircraft. Julie is terrified, and R’s grunted assurances of “Not…eat” do little to calm her. But when R begins to act more human than Zombie, coming to her defense, refusing to eat human flesh, and even speaking in full sentences, Julie realizes that R is special.

After a few close calls with the Boneys, and with her father mounting an armed search for her, Julie realizes she can’t hide forever. So she sneaks back home, leaving R broken-hearted. Desperate to see her, R decides to comb his hair, stand a little straighter, and impersonate a human long enough to get past the city guards. If only he can prove to the humans that Zombies can change, maybe R and Julie’s love might stand a chance. But with the rampaging Boneys heading toward the city and Julie’s father intent on killing R and his Zombie friends, the stage is set for an all-out battle between the living and the undead.

A genre-bending tale of love and transformation, WARM BODIES is a story about a boy who loves a girl…for more than just her body.