Blockbuster sci-fi is about as close to a guaranteed box office performer as you can get, especially when there are A-list superstars attached and a sky-high concept more than capable of generating interest. While 2016’s Passengers could be deemed a success, it would be an understatement to say that it was still a major missed opportunity.
A $150 million cosmic love story dripping in visual effects and ruminations on life and death that was peppered with several large-scale action sequences should have been lavished in widespread adoration and hefty profits. Instead, opinion was split right down the middle on both a critical and commercial level, but an ingenious idea could have changed the movie for the better.
One of the biggest criticisms of Passengers was that its central storyline was a little creepy, with Chris Pratt waking up Jennifer Lawrence from cryosleep for no other reason than the fact he’s bored and lonely, and she’s very attractive. Thanks to one Twitter user, though, we can’t help but lament the entirely different version that got away.
Passengers barely cleared $300 million at the box office, and while it did land a pair of Academy Award nominations, a 30 percent Rotten Tomatoes score summed up the overall levels of disappointment. It does have a user rating that’s twice as high, though, but the fact Adele of all people warned Lawrence against signing on is a fascinating footnote on how greatness was never guaranteed.
As it is, Passengers is watchable without being anywhere near to being top-tier sci-fi, but reinventing it as a horror thriller had the potential to deliver an intergalactic knockout.
