A comet capable of wiping out Earth is headed our way and the U.S. government and news media don’t seem to care in the new trailer for Netflix’s Don’t Look Up. The two-minute trailer focuses on a grad student (Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook) and her professor (Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant) who seem to be the only adults capable of grasping the idea a planet-killing comet is about to crash into our planet.
In addition to DiCaprio and Lawrence, the huge ensemble includes two-time Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, three-time Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet, Emmy winner Michael Chiklis, and two-time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill. Oscar-winner Mark Rylance, Rob Morgan, Tyler Perry, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Himesh Patel, Melanie Lynskey, and Tomer Sisley also star in the Netflix original film.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Adam McKay (The Big Short) wrote and directed Don’t Look Up, and during a Netflix Q&A he explained the inspiration for the comedy. “I knew the movie needed to be laugh-out-loud funny, not just clever or wry, so I turned to the all-time greats. Comedies like Office Space and Idiocracy that really capture the weird way we live in the modern world. (Both of those Mike Judge films were north stars for me.) But also movies like Dr. Strangelove, Network, and Wag the Dog,” stated McKay. “I’ve always been intrigued with the idea of finding a way to encapsulate these giant looming threats that we’re faced with in this world, but to show it in a way that has a bit of fun with it.”
Asked what drew him to the film, Leonardo DiCaprio replied, “Adam McKay is a director that I’d been wanting to work with for a long time. His ability to combine comedy with incredibly pertinent issues, especially with this film having the undertone of the climate crisis, so it was a unique opportunity to work with somebody that really allowed all of us as actors to collaborate and improvise. Adam is somebody that values everyone’s opinion and allows you as an actor to take a scene in any direction that you see fit.”
Jennifer Lawrence explained preparation for the role included speaking to astronomer Amy Mainzer. “I was mostly curious about what the world for a female astronomer looks like since they’re so outnumbered,” said Lawrence. “That helped shape Kate’s personality, how she dresses, how she carries herself. I tried to learn about astronomy as well, but I don’t know how much of it I retained. Leo, of course, learned all of it.”
The new trailer was accompanied by the official poster as well as new photos from the film. Netflix is releasing the comedy in select theaters on December 10, 2021 followed by a release on the streaming service on Christmas Eve.
The Plot, Courtesy of Netflix:
Kate Dibiasky (Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system. The problem — it’s on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care. Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate.
With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Streep) and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Perry). With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media-obsessed public before it’s too late proves shockingly comical — what will it take to get the world to just look up?!
