Kate Mara Blasts Off in The Astronaut as First Trailer and Poster Tease a Chilling October Landing
Kate Mara blasts off in The Astronaut, a sci-fi thriller landing in theaters this October, with the first trailer and poster touching down online today.
After a long orbit, 'The Astronaut' finally has a landing date. The Kate Mara sci-fi thriller that started life with Emma Roberts just rolled out a new trailer and poster, and it is aiming for theaters on October 17.
Quick backstory
Three years ago, Emma Roberts ('Space Cadet') and Laurence Fishburne ('The Matrix') signed on for 'The Astronaut,' the solo feature writing/directing debut of Jess Varley, who previously contributed a segment to the horror anthology 'Phobias.' The movie headed into production about a year after that announcement, but Roberts dropped out and Kate Mara ('Class of '09') took over the lead.
What it is
The setup leans into that creepy, quiet-sci-fi zone: After her first mission, astronaut Sam Walker (Mara) is discovered alive in a punctured capsule drifting far off the Atlantic coast. General William Harris (Fishburne) orders her locked down in a secure NASA house for rehab and testing. Then weird stuff starts happening around the property, and Sam begins to suspect she did not come back alone. So, you know, not ominous at all.
Festival stop and release
The film had its world premiere at this year’s South by Southwest. Vertical is handling the U.S. release, with a theatrical rollout set for October 17. The new trailer and poster dropped to tee that up.
The players
- Cast: Kate Mara as Sam Walker; Laurence Fishburne as General William Harris; Gabriel Luna ('The Last of Us'); Ivana Milicevic ('Casino Royale'); Macy Gray ('Phobias').
- Writer-director: Jess Varley, making her first solo feature.
- Producers: Eric B. Fleischman, Chris Abernathy, Cameron Fuller, and genre mainstay Brad Fuller ('A Quiet Place,' the 'Purge' franchise, and the remakes/reboots of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,' 'The Amityville Horror,' 'The Hitcher,' 'Friday the 13th,' and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street').
- Executive producers: Laurence Fishburne, Jan McAdoo, Stephen Braun.
Why this one is worth a look
There is a little inside-baseball here: Varley cut her teeth on 'Phobias,' and Macy Gray from that anthology turns up in the cast. And Brad Fuller backing a contained sci-fi thriller with a haunted-house vibe tracks with his wheelhouse. If the trailer is any indication, this leans more paranoid and atmospheric than splashy. Poster’s out too if you want the look before October 17.