Netflix dropped a 24-second teaser for Spaceman on December 19.  An original film from the streamer, the title stars Adam Sandler as Jakub Procházka — an astronaut who has fled his home to embark on a perilous and ambitious mission. 

The teaser opens with a long shot of Sandler walking in a spacesuit through swampy waters surrounded by immense greenery. Then the narration begins: “Just like you, I fled my planet — through galaxies, through black holes, through time, and then I found you.” The screen goes black before revealing Adam Sandler’s face inside the helmet. The word “Spaceman” flashes across the screen, and that’s all we get. 

The official synopsis for the film reads as follows: 

“An astronaut 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 (Carey Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious ancient creature he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship.”

The film from Director Johan Renck places Sandler in a space (pun intended) we’re not accustomed to seeing him work within. The role sees a more introspective and distraught Sandler largely on screen by himself. Renck told Tudum: 

“I really wanted to have a performance from him that had nothing to do with the Adam Sandler we all know,” director Johan Renck told Netflix. “I don’t think people understand how [although] he may come across as funny and sweet and all that, he’s very intelligent, really smart, profound.”

While the movie will spotlight Sandler, Paul Dano will be playing the “mysterious ancient creature.” Renck shared, “Paul was the first thing that came up in thinking about [the creature]… “He has this peculiar cadence when he’s speaking, his careful formulation of words, and his very unique voice.”

The movie is based on ‘Spaceman of Bohemia’ by Jaroslav Kalfař

The story is told from Jakub’s point of view, who is the first Independent Czech Republic astronaut. He is sent to space on an eight-month mission to inspect a cloud of intergalactic dust near Venus. No other country is willing to risk sending their astronauts to examine such an unpredictable anomaly. While he is there, he meets and befriends a giant arachnid named Hanus. (As for the Netflix film, the creature’s identity is being largely kept under wraps at this point, so the movie may decide to stray from the eight-legged, nightmare fuel). 

Jakub has decided to embark on such a dangerous mission to escape a troubled past; his emotional turmoil fuels much of the story, as does his broken relationship with his wife back home. In the novel, he is also hoping that this act of courage will help atone for his father’s sins as a Communist informer. 

When he gets to space and meets the creature (who may or may not be a figment of his imagination), they engage in several philosophical conversations about the nature of love, mortality, and even the tastiness of bacon. The question is: will this deep emotional bond be enough to see Jakub through a clash with Russian rivals and return him to earth to get a second chance with his wife? 

Speaking of the upcoming film, the author shared:

“I was completely blown away when I saw the film. I’ve seen it twice now,” he said. “I think all the people out there who love weird things and weird art will hopefully be delighted by it.”

Spaceman drops on Netflix on March 1, 2024.