Netflix Spaceman Trailer Brings Adam Sandler Into Sci-Fi Adventure
When we first heard that Adam Sandler was making a movie called Spaceman we immediately pictured some high-concept comedy like Little Nickey set in space.
What we didn’t expect was a thoughtful sci-fi drama where Adam Sandler drifts alone through the cosmos contemplating whether his marriage can be saved. The first trailer for Spaceman, which hits Netflix on March 1, promises a movie that’s more Reign Over Me Sandler than Waterboy Sandler.
Check out Adam Sandler in the trailer for Spaceman.
Spaceman tells the tale of astronaut Jakub Prochazka as he embarks on a solo mission to Venus. Along the way, he starts to worry that his marriage is deteriorating and might not last until he gets back. Luckily, Jakub runs into a giant alien spider named Hanus, played by Paul Dano, who might be able to help him with his problem.
Spaceman tells the tale of astronaut Jakub Prochazka (Adam Sandler) as he embarks on a solo mission to Venus
The trailer makes Spaceman look like a cross between A Christmas Carol and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Hanus acts like the ghosts of past, present, and future, all rolled into a disgusting eight-legged horror.
The interstellar arachnid accompanies Jakub on a journey through his own thoughts and memories as he relives his relationship with his estranged spouse.
Spaceman is based on the novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar. The film was helmed by Johan Renck, the director behind Chernobyl (2019), from a script by Colby Day. Spaceman is set to have its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in February before moving to Netflix.
Adam Sandler has long been a dramatic actor trapped inside a comedian’s body. Sandler’s first foray into more serious films came when he took the lead in the 2002 Paul Thomas Anderson movie Punch-Drunk Love. The film still had some darkly comical elements to it but was a far cry from the sophomoric goofiness present in Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore.
Spaceman is based on the novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar
Over the years, Adam Sandler has tried more and more dramatic roles with varying results. The above-mentioned Reign Over Me—a movie about a 9/11 survivor with PTSD—certainly didn’t set the world.
Meanwhile, Uncut Gems (2019) features what is possibly Adam Sandler’s best work on screen to date, regardless of genre. Judging by the trailer, however, Sandler’s performance in Spaceman may give Gems a run for its money.
Sandler’s Jakub is a soft-spoken man whose face perfectly conveys his loneliness and desperation. In just a few seconds of the trailer, before Paul Dano’s space-spider shows up, Sandler really sells Jakub’s feeling of isolation. Could Spaceman give Sandler the Best Actor nomination that many feel he should have received for Uncut Gems?
Could Spaceman give Sandler the Best Actor nomination that many feel he should have received for Uncut Gems?
We wouldn’t go so far as to make predictions about next year’s Oscars based on a two-minute trailer, but we will say it looks like Spaceman has the potential to be a career-best for Sandler. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that he’s surrounded by some of the best in the business. Along with Dano, Spaceman also features the acting talent of Isabella Rossellini and Drive‘s Carey Mulligan, among others.
Given Sandler’s recent success in dramatic roles and the stellar cast backing him up, Spaceman looks to be some “High-quality H2O,” as The Waterboy would say.
