‘Interstellar’: Trailer for Christopher Nolan sci-fi epic launches

Christopher Nolan fans, prepare for liftoff. A new trailer for “Interstellar” has been released, offering a glimpse of the “Dark Knight” director’s spacefaring sci-fi movie starring Matthew McConaughey.

The trailer, which you can watch above, features many of Nolan’s hallmarks, including an epic scale, striking visuals, dramatic music (from Dario Marianelli’s “V for Vendetta” score) and some interpersonal drama to keep the whole thing grounded.

The story centers on McConaughey’s Cooper, a father, trained pilot and engineer. Unfortunately, as David Oyelowo’s character (presumably a suit working for the government) says, “The world doesn’t need anymore engineers. We didn’t run out of planes and television sets — we ran out of food.”

The world of “Interstellar,” it seems, is turning into a giant dust bowl — one image seems to evoke the Joad family in “The Grapes of Wrath” — and Cooper is tapped to take part in a deep-space expedition to find a solution.

“We’re not meant to save the world,” a character played by Michael Caine tells him. “We’re meant to leave it.”

That will require Cooper to leave his two children behind, not to mention take on the perilous task of traveling through space-time via a wormhole. Then again, the fate of the world is at stake.

“Interstellar” combines an original idea of Nolan’s with an existing script by his brother and frequent collaborator, Jonathan. The film also stars Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Casey Affleck, John Lithgow and Ellen Burstyn.

Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy and “Inception” brought the superhero genre down to earth and explored the inner space of the human mind, respectively, so it will no doubt be intriguing to see what happens when the director turns his attention to the heavens.

Paramount will release “Interstellar” on Nov. 7.