Adam Sandler is a wildly versatile performer whose catalog of Hollywood projects has spanned everything from goofy sports comedies like "Happy Gilmore" and "The Waterboy," to more dramatic fare like "Punch-Drunk Love" and "Uncut Gems."
His ongoing associations with Netflix have produced the recent animated family film, "Leo," and the coming-of-age comedy "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah," which he stars in with his daughters. Now Sandler is venturing into uncharted outer space in Netflix's upcoming sci-fi film, "Spaceman," where he plays a wayward astronaut whose marriage is potentially mended by an ancient alien entity.
Netflix just offered up a curious sneak peek at director Johan Renck's ("Chernobyl") off-planet odyssey, which arrives March 1, 2024 starring Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano.
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Here's the official synopsis:
"Six months into a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system, an astronaut, Jakub (Adam Sandler), realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things with his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious creature from the beginning of time he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano) works with Jakub to make sense of what went wrong before it is too late."
Dano is best known for his roles in director Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood," and portraying The Riddler in Matt Reeves' "The Batman" and playing Steven Spielberg's real-life father for "The Fabelmans" in 2022. "Spaceman's" support cast also includes Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin and Isabella Rossellini.
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"Just like you, I fled my planet, through galaxies, through black holes, through time, and then I found… you," Dano's enigmatic character muses in this cryptic 20-second teaser that reveals Sandler sloshing through a forest stream wearing a spacesuit.
Written by Colby Day, "Spaceman's" screenplay was adapted from Czech author Jaroslav Kalfař’s 2017 novel "Spaceman of Bohemia." This $40 million Netflix feature is executive produced by Ben Ormand, Johan Renck and Barry Bernardi, in collaboration with producers Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, Peter Kiernan, Michael Parets, Tim Headington, Lia Buman and Max Silva.
"Spaceman" lands on Netflix starting on March 1, 2024.
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Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.