Read The Official Plot Synopsis For The Total Recall Remake

We aren't in the dark about the remake of Total Recall to the same degree as we are for, say, The Dark Knight Rises. As the project has moved through production, we've picked up various details about director Len Wiseman's approach to the material, be it the fact that the story won't be returning to Mars, that the world has been split into two nationstates, and it will star the likes of Colin Farrell, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, John Cho and Bill Nighy. There are, however, still some gaps in our knowledge about the movie, and while we won't be discovering all of those secrets until it comes out this summer, Sony has released the official plot synopsis.

As we expected, the movie will differ greatly from Paul Verhoven's 1990 flick, but it will keep us guessing about what is reality and what is just a dream. Check out the plot description below.

Total Recall is an action thriller about reality and memory, inspired anew by the famous short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick. Welcome to Rekall, the company that can turn your dreams into real memories. For a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), even though he's got a beautiful wife (Kate Beckinsale) who he loves, the mind-trip sounds like the perfect vacation from his frustrating life - real memories of life as a super-spy might be just what he needs. But when the procedure goes horribly wrong, Quaid becomes a hunted man. Finding himself on the run from the police – controlled by Chancellor Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston), the leader of the free world – Quaid teams up with a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel) to find the head of the underground resistance (Bill Nighy) and stop Cohaagen. The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred and the fate of his world hangs in the balance as Quaid discovers his true identity, his true love, and his true fate.

I actually really love a solid plot synopsis. Unlike a trailer, which will show you footage from almost the entire movie, what you read above is nothing but need to know information. In the case of Total Recall, the movie isn't due out until August, so it may still be some time before we get to see more. In the meantime, if you wish to know more about the remake, be sure to head over to our Blend Film Database.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.