Check out the just-posted extended trailer for Cloud Atlas, from Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and the Wachowskis (Matrix, Speed Racer).
It's pretty abundantly clear that although its story may not answer The Question as posed in Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", it most certainly is about "life, the universe, and everything". Actors play different characters, ages, roles, and even genders across the span of human existence.
I'm glad they didn't rush bringing footage to CinemaCon back in April, becuase this is how the movie should be packaged and sold: the epic story of existence, and all that entails.
Count me sold.