We now have three very cool images from On the Road, Walter Salles‘ adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical novel. The film stars Garrett Hedlund as Dean Moriarty, Sam Riley as Sal Paradise and Kristen Stewart as Marylou.  I’m excited about this, especially to see how one of the best examples of Beat Generation literature translates to the big screen.  Check out all the images after the jump.

On the Road was published in the late 50’s and is based on the road trips of Kerouac and his friends across America in the middle of the century. Details of Kerouac’s experiences were changed for the novel but many of the characters have real-world counterparts, the main examples being Dean Moriarty as a fictionalized Neal Cassady, Old Bull Lee as William S. Burroughs, Carlo Marx as Alan Ginsberg, and Sal Paradise as a stand in for Kerouac himself.

Casting-wise, as I’m not familiar with Hedlund I was interested in the following comment from /Film: “I still can’t get my head around the casting of Garrett Hedlund. He’s got none of the charisma or verve that Dean Moriarty needs. Can Walter Salles overcome the limitations that Tron Legacy and Country Strong suggest Garrett Hedlund brings to the table?”

Conversely, Kristen Stewart looks great as Marylou, with even these few stills promising a lot more energy than the lacklustre of her recent roles (not to name names … Bella Swan). Also, I like the choice of Sam Riley for the Sal Paradise character: an English singer and actor, Riley’s best known for his killer performance as Ian Curtis in the Joy Division biopic Control.

Have you read On the Road? Can you see it adapting well? What are your thoughts on Mr. Hedlund?

On the Road is directed by Walter Salles and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, who has owned the rights since 1979. The film stars Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart, and co-stars Kirsten Dunst (Virgin Suicides, Melancholia), Viggo Mortensen (The Road, Lord of the Rings), Amy Adams (Junebug) and Tom Sturridge (The Boat that Rocked).

No release date is available yet.