Natalie Portman, who was a gracefully discovered child prodigy when she debuted starring Léon: The Professional (1994) more than twenty years ago at her tender age of 11 (and, for me, still remains perhaps her best performance to date) seems to have a special interest in science fiction flicks. Besides being more popular for her roles in the early 2000’s Star Wars prequel trilogy and more recently for her role in Marvel’s Thor franchise, she is currently in the mouth of the genre fans due to her work in Alex Garland’s Annihilation (2018), which opened this week in Netflix (except in the American territory). And now, it is announced that she will be starring another science fiction title, the astronaut drama Pale Blue Dot, currently in pre-production.
This movie, produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures, will also have in its cast Jon Hamm, a veteran in many TV series like Mad Men (2007–2015) and recently seen in Baby Driver (2017). He will play another astronaut, partner in a mission with Natalie Portman’s character. Reese Witherspoon was rumored to be cast as the main star before Natalie Portman was signed, but dropped out to focus on other projects. Still, she remains as producer of the film with her Pacific Standard partner Bruna Papandrea.
Legion (2017– ) TV series creator Noah Hawley is set to direct. This will be his feature film debut after a wide and successful career on TV, with writing credits in Bones (2005–2017), Fargo (2014– ) and the already mentioned Legion among others. The script is authored by two other experienced TV writers and producers Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi.
Pale Blue Dot tells the story of an astronaut who returns home on Earth and discovers that her sense of reality has changed in unexpected ways. The movie will reportedly explore how a difficult reentry for astronauts can extend well past a bumpy trip through the atmosphere of our little planet, also known as “the pale blue dot in the galaxy”. The production is scheduled to start its filming this spring.
