''Distant'' is an upcoming American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck from a screenplay by

Spenser Cohen Spenser Cohen is an American film screenwriter, executive producer, and director best known for his work on ''Extinction'' (2018) and '' Moonfall'' (2022). Career In March 2012, Cohen directed Diana DeGarmo's music video "Good Goodbye". Cohe ...

. It stars

Anthony Ramos Anthony Paul Ramos Martinez (born November 1, 1991) is an American actor and singer. In 2015, he originated the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Broadway musical '' Hamilton''. Ramos also appeared in the 2021 film versi ...

Naomi Scott Naomi Scott (born 6 May 1993) is an English actress and singer. Born in Hounslow, she rose to prominence for her performances in the television film ''Lemonade Mouth'' (2011) and the science fiction series '' Terra Nova'' (2011). In 2015, Screen ...

, and

Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series '' Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in the film ''Star Trek'' (2009) ...

. It was shot in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Budapest, Hungary Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

. During

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. Th ...

, editing was completed by Gregory Plotkin and the musical score was composed by Steven Price. The film is scheduled to be released in the United States by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Premise

The spaceship of asteroid miner Andy gets struck, crash landing him on an alien planet where he contends with his AI survival suit. Losing oxygen, he connects with fellow crew member Naomi via radio, who is trapped inside her escape pod, leading him to go search and rescue her.

Cast

as Andy Ramirez *

as Naomi Calloway *

as the voice of Andy's AI survival suit *

Kristofer Hivju Kristofer Hivju (; born 7 December 1978) is a Norwegian actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Tormund Giantsbane in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' and Connor Rhodes in ''The Fate of the Furious''. Early life Hivju was ...

as Dwayne

Production

On February 21, 2019,

Amblin Partners Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces f ...

announced it had bought ''Distant'', a

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

. In August 2019, it was reported Josh Gordon and Will Speck would direct the film, with Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger, and Anna Halberg attached as producers. In December 2019,

joined the cast.

Rachel Brosnahan Rachel Elizabeth Brosnahan (born July 12, 1990) is an American actress. She stars as aspiring stand-up comedian Miriam "Midge" Maisel in the Amazon Prime Video period comedy series '' The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2017–present), for which she ...

was cast in February 2020, but later dropped out due to scheduling conflicts; she was replaced by

in August 2020. Filming began in

, on September 21, 2020. As a result of the

, the cast and crew followed a number of safety protocols, including "extensive sanitization" procedures, wearing face masks, and social distancing. In October 2020, it was reported

would also star. Filming concluded on November 13, 2020. By May 2021, the film was still in post-production. Steven Price composed the musical score for the film. In July 2021,

was confirmed as part of the cast.

Release

''Distant'' is scheduled to be theatrically released by

. It was originally scheduled for March 11, 2022, September 16, 2022, and later January 27, 2023 before being quietly pulled from Universal's release schedule.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2023 comedy-drama films 2023 science fiction films 2020s English-language films 2020s science fiction comedy-drama films American science fiction comedy-drama films DreamWorks Pictures films Films impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Films directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon Films scored by Steven Price Films shot in Budapest Films set on fictional planets Films with screenplays by Spenser Cohen Universal Pictures films Upcoming English-language films 2020s American films