First glimpse of Bradley Cooper as the aged music conductor Leonard Bernstein leaves fans stunned

Bradley Cooper's follow-up to his Oscar-winning directorial debut A Star is Born has piqued the interests of film buffs across the world. For his next, the actor has taken on a period film that is based on the life of the renowned music conductor and Broadway composer Leonard Bernstein with Cooper himself playing the titular role. The Netflix release, titled Maestro, went on floors earlier this month (according to Variety) and the first few glimpses of the film were made public very recently, much to the surprise and delight of the fans.

Bradley Cooper's incredible transformation as the much-older version of Leonard Bernstein has, for obvious reasons, become a huge talking point on the internet. "This is a ridiculously accurate recreation of Leonard Bernstein. Almost creepy that it’s not a real picture of him," said one internet user who echoed the sentiments of many others. Another comment lauded Cooper's penchant for such projects and said, "I’m so thankful Bradley Cooper is such an overachiever. His talents seem limitless. Let the good people of the world rejoice".

While Maestro focuses on the stellar musical career of Leonard Bernstein, the Internet Movie Database synopsis suggests that the film will also chronicle his personal life comprising wife Felicia Montealegre and their three children. British actress Carey Mulligan plays Montealegre and will be seen playing a prominent part in the "complex love story" that spans close to three decades - starting in the year 1946 when the two are said to have met at a party. Jeremy Strong (Succession) will be seen playing art critic John Gruen who also penned Bernstein's biography titled 'The Private World of Leonard Bernstein'.

According to Variety, Bradley Cooper was originally slated to only star in the titular role with Steven Spielberg at the helm. However, with Cooper still keen on writing and directing more pictures following the success of A Star is Born, he would urge Spielberg to allow him to take over and the latter is said to have gladly agreed. Steven Spielberg is one of the producers of the film along with Martin Scorsese.