UPDATE: This is not based on a true story. Procházka was not a real-life astronaut.
EARLIER: Johan Renck’s “Spaceman” has a teaser. It will be released, on Netflix, March 1st 2024.
Principal photography on “Spaceman” began in April 19, 2021 and wrapped on July 1, 2021 in the Czech Republic. Yes, when it finally starts streaming, it’ll have been almost three years since production had wrapped on the film.
“Spaceman” stars Adam Sandler as astronaut Jakub Procházka. Carey Mulligan plays his wife and Paul Dano is a fellow astronaut. There’s a lot of talent involved in this movie. It also comes to us from director Johan Renck (“Chernobyl“), with a screenplay by Colby Day.
Many believed “Spaceman” would be seen in 2022, but it didn’t show up anywhere on the calendar. It was scheduled to be released by Netflix in 2023, but I reported in August that it was being again delayed, this time to 2024.
There were actually three test-screenings for “Spaceman” last year. What I had heard wasn’t good. The folks I spoke to all mentioned that Sandler was miscast in a role that demanded a range of emotions. The screenplay was also another issue, again, according to those I spoke to.
Regardless, an assembly cut was tested again this year and the reaction I received was positive.
Procházka is orphaned as a boy and raised in the Czech countryside by his grandparents, but overcame the odds to become the country's first astronaut.
The delay is disappointing news as I am a fan of Sandler’s dramatic turns — he gave impressive performances in “Punch-Drunk Love,” “Uncut Gems” and “The a Meyerowitz Stories.” Let’s hope the test reactions were an anomaly and the film is actually good.
Meanwhile, the Swedish-born Renck is a pretty big name in television having directed all five episodes of HBO’s critically-acclaimed “Chernobyl.” He’s also directed episodes of “Breaking Bad,” “The Walking Dead” and “Vikings.”
I should warn you: based on everything I’ve heard, this teaser is a total misdirection. The movie is not at all what it’s being portrayed as here. In fact, most of the footage in the teaser comes from the first few minutes of the film.