JJ Abrams And Doug Dorst's Upcoming Novel 'S' Linked With Mysterious Bad Robot Trailer

From a Hollywood standpoint, J.J. Abrams is taking over the universe. After tackling TV, he set his sights and talent on the big screen, giving us the excellent Star Trek and its followup. And coming-eventually, there's the hugely anticipated seventh episode of Star Wars to obsess over. Between film and television, he has enough Hollywood credit to carry him comfortably through his career, and yet he keeps going. Among his latest endeavors, he's set his sights away from the screen and to the page, collaborating with author Doug Dorst on a novel called S, which appears to be linked to that mysterious trailer we saw earlier this week.

This week, a puzzling trailer made its way online, sporting the the notable "Bad Robot" logo and an intro to a mysterious character, the face of a man with his lips sewn shut and the words "Soon he will know," all of which left fans wondering what Abrams has up his sleeve. If you haven't seen it, watch it below:

The trailer doesn't actually tell us what it's advertising, so fans were naturally curious and excited to learn more about it. Is it a new movie? A TV show? A video game? All possibilities. But all signs point to it being a book trailer for S. Bleeding Cool put the pieces together. The site pointed out a promotional postcard posted over at Huff Post. The front of the postcard shows a crowded Brazilian beach and on the back, a letter from someone named "E" addressing "Fellow Birders" and talking about a very old Nightingale he or she may have the chance to see. But it's the intro card that was posted with this postcard that grabbed Bleeding Cool's attention:

Mystery clue

BC notes that the font in the above card - which states "The first clue to the mystery of S. The new novel from J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. Coming October 29" - matches the font at the end of the trailer:

Soon

The only way the trailer could've clinched it more is if the "oon" disappeared at the end, leaving the "S" by itself, but that may have been too obvious. Still, at the very least, the card confirms Abrams and Dorst's collaboration on a novel, and to further confirm that, I went over to Amazon and sure enough, the site has a book by the duo called S available for preorder. (No Kindle version listed yet. Boo.) Dorst is listed as the author, while Abrams is credited as the creator.

Here's the full description listed at Amazon:

J.J. Abrams and acclaimed novelist Doug Dorst create a reading experience like no other in this dazzling novel of love and mystery.J.J. Abrams has created, written, produced, and directed groundbreaking television shows such as the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning Lost and Alias and blockbuster films such asStar Trek, Cloverfield, Super 8, Mission: Impossible and Armageddon. His work is renowned for its sense of wonder and invention, and for helping reshape what's possible in film and television today.In his first-ever idea for a novel, Abrams conceived of and developed a multi-layered literary puzzle of love and adventure. At its core, we have a book of mysterious provenance. In the margins, another tale unfolds: hand-scribbled notes, questions, and confrontations between two readers. Between the pages, online, and in the real world, you'll find evidence of their interaction, ephemera that brings this tale vividly to life.Abrams turned to PEN/Hemingway Award- and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated novelist Doug Dorst, author of the acclaimed novelAlive in Necropolis (Riverhead, 2008) and story collection The Surf Guru (Riverhead, 2010), to write S. Together, Abrams' vision and Dorst's expert craftsmanship will redefine the novel.

I bolded the middle part, which directly references the subject of the book, and implies that this is more than just a book, as the story will extend online and in the real world. That seems like something Abrams would be involved in for sure. Why just do a book when you can turn it into an event, right? And with the mysterious trailer and the postcards (read the Brazil one below), we're already seeing the onset of buzz generated as we head toward October 29. In the meantime, we'll have to keep an eye out for more clues!

Brazil Postcard

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.