Jake Gyllenhaal Braces For A Close Encounter In New Image For Daniel Espinosa’s Life

From Gravity to Interstellar, The Martian to Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated Arrival, over the past few years moviegoers have found themselves awash with truly gripping, high-profile science fiction. That trend continues next year with the, er, arrival of Life, Daniel Espinosa’s near-future thriller that takes the International Space Station and transforms it into a haunted house of extraterrestrial horrors.

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds and Rebecca Ferguson as crew members aboard the satellite, Life imagines a scenario in which our team of astronauts uncovers an alien organism from Mars, before making the dubious decision to welcome said lifeform on board. What starts as a landmark achievement for humanity soon devolves into a full-blown thrill ride, as Gyllenhaal and Co. quickly realize that the microscopic extraterrestrial is far more intelligent than they ever anticipated.

Thanks to Empire, today brings forth a new image for Life, showcasing Jake Gyllenhaal’s petrified crew member gingerly exploring the bowels of the ISS. Ditching the bleeding-edge CG glimpsed in Gravity, director Daniel Espinosa doubled down on practical effects when filming his space thriller, which forced Gyllenhaal, Reynolds and Ferguson to undergo some pretty strenuous wirework on set.

“It takes a while to get into that space, to access your feelings,” Gyllenhaal told Empire. “There are 40 people pulling us all around from above. The physical part is a huge element of it.”

In typical fashion, his co-star Ryan Reynolds is more frank in his assessment, stating: “You think, ‘This is going to be a cinch’. Then they jam this harness on you that puts your testicles in your throat. I sneezed and I am actually now neutered.”

Originally earmarked for a release in May, Sony soon reshuffled its slate to shield Life from Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant – which was also bumped up from its initial August window. In light of the switcheroo, Daniel Espinosa’s intriguing picture is now primed for launch on March 24th, when Olga Dihovichnaya, Ariyon Bakare, and Hiroyuki Sanada will co-star.