'Lucy in the Sky' Trailer: No Diamonds Here, Just Astronaut Troubles

The first "Lucy In The Sky" trailer has launched on the internet and all systems don't seem to be "Go" for Natalie Portman, who portrays the film's titular astronaut, Lucy Cola. Check it out above!

Fox Searchlight Pictures unveiled the trailer Tuesday (March 19) with the following description: "In 'Lucy In The Sky,' Natalie Portman plays astronaut Lucy Cola, who returns to Earth after a transcendent experience during a mission to space – and begins to lose touch with reality in a world that now seems too small."

So, there's a lot going on in this first look at "Lucy In The Sky," and it's just a teaser trailer. But here are a few takeaways.

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First, this doesn't look like a feel-good space movie. "Lucy In The Sky" presents like an astronaut thriller, with Portman's Lucy enduring a life-changing experience while on a spacewalk and having problems processing the event once she returns to Earth. 

"I just feel a little off," Lucy says. "You go up there. You see the whole universe. And everything here looks so small."

During the 2-minute, 35-second trailer, we see Lucy in an Extravehicular Mobility Unity, NASA's EMU spacesuit used by shuttle and space station astronauts. The character is apparently a space-shuttle mission specialist; we see her return to Earth in the orange "pumpkin" ascent/entry attire reminiscent of NASA's Advance Crew Escape Suit . Jon Hamm appears to portray the mission's commander. 

Also, check out those NASA logos! The movie does not use NASA's iconic "worm" logo or the familiar "meatball," so the filmmakers either didn't get permission from NASA to use the agency's official logos, or they opted to go a different route. 

And what year is it? 

The trailer begins with views of what appears to be a complete or well-under-construction International Space Station. That clue plus the fact that the shuttle astronauts are wearing orange ACES suits seems to place the date some time after 1986 Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts. (The ACES suits were introduced in 1994.) But car models and other background visuals suggest a 1980s or early 1990s setting. There's also a close-up of what appears to be a launch disaster on TV (labeled as "live"), so that may play a role in Lucy's problems, too. 

So, what's happening in "Lucy In The Sky"? Well, Lucy Cola clearly has some issues to work through (did I see a gun, and police cruisers in the background?), but exactly what those issues are, beyond readapting to life on Earth after a mission, are unclear. And there could always be a twist. What if (gasp) it's all in Lucy's mind and she's not an astronaut after all?

We'll have to wait for the film to hit theaters to find out. 

"Lucy In The Sky" is directed by Noah Hawley and based on a story by Brian C Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi. The cast includes Portman, Hamm, Dan Stevens, Zazie Beetz, Pearl Amanda Dickson and Ellen Burstyn. 

The film is slated to launch into theaters later this year.

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 Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.