Passengers may have generated a quarter of the buzz of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story ahead of its December release, but Morten Tyldum’s fellow sci-fi movie is no less intriguing.
Featured as part of Entertainment Weekly’s fall preview, today brings forth our first look at the film’s leading duo, played by Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, suited and booted as interstellar explorers.
Bound for a remote star system some 120 light-years from Earth, a technical malfunction forces Pratt’s lead out of cryogenic sleep 90 years ahead of schedule, sparking a desperate – and cripplingly lonely – fight for survival that ropes in Jennifer Lawrence’s character.
When quizzed about the story – one dreamed up by Prometheus scribe Jon Spaihts – Tyldum doubled down on the intimate nature of Passengers, which he considers to be the love story for a new generation.
“It’s one of those stories that really grabs you and you fall in love with it. It’s very smart and funny and clever and such a page turner I couldn’t put it down. Every 10 pages, something new happens! At the same time it’s a very intimate movie while taking place on this epic scale. For me, it’s a story about what’s important to live a full life. What are the things we need as humans? It’s not afraid to entertain but at the same time it asks big questions about what does it mean to really feel happy. Every generation has its love story. I feel like this is it. I had to do it.”
Passengers opens opposite Assassin’s Creed on December 21. Aurora Perrineau, Michael Sheen and Laurence Fishburne are among the crew on board Tyldum’s space vessel.
