Kate Mara will lead the upcoming sci-fi thriller, The Astronaut, whose first trailer has arrived. Mara, who previously played an Astronaut in The Martian, plays Sam Walker, who is put under NASA surveillance for rehabilitation and testing after returning to Earth. But things soon start to go haywire, which leads her to believe something extraterrestrial has followed her home.
Although it’s an original movie, which premiered earlier this year at SXSW, interestingly, it feels reminiscent of Ryan Reynolds’ overlooked sci-fi thriller, which also deals with a hostile extra-terrestrial life form, but on Mars.
Kate Mara’s The Astronaut is the Life Sequel We Never Got
Despite striking gold with Deadpool in the mid-2010s, Reynolds’ other ambitious 2017 release, Life, starring Rebecca Ferguson and Jake Gyllenhaal, disappeared into oblivion. While it wasn’t one of the more standout entries the genre had to offer, and certainly had its fair share of flaws, its approach of creating a claustrophobic and noir-influenced atmosphere was enticing.
Even though a sequel to Life never materialized, most probably because of its underwhelming box-office returns, which saw a collection of $100.5 million from its $58 million production budget. However, Mara’s The Astronaut seems likely the closest thing to a Life sequel, as both deal with similar subjects, including psychological horror and a looming extraterrestrial threat.
It also appears, like Life, Mara’s sci-fi thriller is also contained to one major location, but instead of being trapped in a spaceship, she will be dealing with the threat under quarantine.
The Astronaut Release Date, Cast, Everything We Know So Far
Having opened to mediocre reviews following its premiere at SXSW, the movie is now slated to hit theatres on October 17. Directed by Jess Varley and produced by Brad Fuller, Eric B. Fleischman, Chris Abernathy, and Cameron, the sci-fi thriller marks Varley’s directorial debut
Apart from Kate Mara, the main cast includes Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Luna, Ivana Milicevic, Macy Grey, and Scarlett Holmes. Elaborating on her directorial debut, Varley expressed that she got inspired by real-life stories of astronauts, who struggle to acclimate to Earth’s atmosphere upon returning, adding (via Screen Rant), ” for the longest time, [I] could not crack it”.
As the story goes, she did eventually crack the twist, and for her lead actor, Mara, it couldn’t have been more exciting, given her history of working as an astronaut in Ridley Scott’s The Martian.
I’ve played an astronaut before, and I feel like there’s really nothing cooler than to be an astronaut in real life, and I would never be able to be on. To be able to play one again was really exciting for me, [and it was exciting] to specifically be able to explore these things.It was a really eye-opening experience.”
Although the critical reception to the movie hasn’t been anything spectacular, with a few weeks until its release, it’ll be interesting to see how the general audience perceives it.
What are your expectations from the sci-fi thriller?
The Astronaut releases on October 17 (USA).
