‘The Spaceman Of Bohemia’ Will Unite The Director Of ‘Chernobyl’ With Adam Sandler
Adam Sandleris heading to space in his next Netflix movie.
But despite its somewhat goofy title,The Spaceman of Bohemiawill not be a comedy likeHubie Halloween,Murder Mystery, orThe Ridiculous 6. Instead, it’s a drama that’s being directed byJohan Renck, the filmmaker behind HBO’s excellent, ultra-serious limited seriesChernobyl. Talk about an unexpected combination of elements.
Deadline reports that Johan Renck (Breaking Bad,The WalkingDead,Vikings) is set to directThe Spaceman of Bohemia, which is based on Jaroslav Kalfar’s 2017 novel. Sandler will play an astronaut who is selected to go on a dangerous mission: he must travel to a mysterious cloud of particles called Chopra, suspended between Earth and Venus, and collect samples to find out what it is. (I’m sensing some shades of “the Shimmer” fromAnnihilation.) But once he leaves Earth, the astronaut “finds his earthly life falling to pieces and he turns to the only voice who can help him try to put it back together. It just so happens to belong to a creature from the beginning of time lurking in the shadows of his ship.” Whoa. Yes, please. That sounds amazing.
For the most part, I have nothing against Adam Sandler’s comedies. They’re goofy and dumb, sometimes charmingly so, and they give audiences mainstream Hollywood comedies in an era where those are rapidly disappearing. (They also give Sandler the chance to travel the world and make movies in cool locations with his family and friends, which is pretty much the textbook definition of the phrase “living the dream.")
But something special happens when Sandler agrees to be in a drama. There’s spark in the air, jolting through us with flashes ofUncut Gems,Punch-Drunk Love, andFunny Peopleto remind us of the potential Sandler has to absolutely crush a role when he puts his mind to it. Again, no shade on those cheesy comedies – it takes a whole separate skill to be able to pull those off the way he does – but as someone who doesn’t particularly care for theHubie HalloweensandThe Do-Oversof the world, this is something I can get excited about.
Up-and-coming screenwriterColby Dayis writing the script, andChanning Tatum,Reid Carolin,Peter Kiernan, andMichael Paretswill serve as producers.
“As we prepare for our voyage to Chopra, I couldn’t be more pleased to have found the perfect partner in Adam,” Renck said in a statement. “And now, with the support of the brilliant Netflix family, I am profoundly excited to set off on our impossible journey.”
