'A Journal for Jordan' trailer starring Michael B. Jordan will tug at your heartstrings

The clip finds 1st Sgt. Charles Monroe King visiting home from the war in Baghdad. It appears to be an incredibly romantic weekend for Charles and Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams). The footage cuts to Charles back in his military fatigues, writing to his infant son named Jordan, whom he shares with Dana. 

Scenes from Charles and Dana's incredible love story continue to flicker by—a proposal over the phone, a date at the museum, kissing Dana's pregnant belly, Charles holding Jordan during a trip home—and the back half of the trailer is narrated by what Charles wrote to Jordan: "Dear Jordan, just take one look at your mother. That will tell you what I think beautiful is. Love is a choice, Jordan. And real love means you have to sacrifice. But pain is temporary. Real love lasts forever. But remember, Jordan, you have to fight for it."

The film, directed by none other than Denzel Washington, is based on a true story and adapted from Canedy's book A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor. King was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb in October 2006, just one month away from the 48-year-old completing his tour of duty. Prior to his death, he penned a journal for Jordan.

Canedy wrote about the tragedy for The New York Times in 2007 before her book was published.

"Charles mailed the book to me in July, after one of his soldiers was killed and he had recovered the body from a tank," she shared, in part. "The journal was incomplete, but the horror of the young man’s death shook Charles so deeply that he wanted to send it even though he had more to say. He finished it when he came home on a two-week leave in August to meet Jordan, then 5 months old. He was so intoxicated by love for his son that he barely slept, instead keeping vigil over the baby."

King also had a daughter named Christina from a previous marriage. Christina was 16 at the time of King's passing, and Jordan is now 16 years old.

Michael B. Jordan told USA Today that Washington's adaptation "would not be happening if it wasn't for (the family's) approval and sign-off on everything."

"I've done a lot of physical roles, because that's been my appetite," he explained. "I'm 34; the last seven years has been (about) physically developing into your sweet spot. I felt safe to be able to go into this, to explore these characters, and to be vulnerable in that type of way."

The Black Panther star also noted that this role was "a good change of pace" from his other recent leading roles in Tom Clancy's Without Remorse and the Creed franchise, though the forthcoming Creed III will mark his directorial debut.

A Journal for Jordan will hit theaters on Christmas Day.