New Netflix sci-fi movie casts Batman actor as you've never seen him before

2024 has already been a brilliant year for film fans, but there's one upcoming release that has captured our attention just a little bit more than the others, not just because it's so unlikely, but also because it looks ace. 

We're talking about Spaceman, the sci-fi drama releasing on Netflix on March 1st. It stars the usually silly Adam Sandler in a more restrained role and just going on the trailer, he's doing a fine job. It may initially be more jarring than seeing Gordon Ramsay grabbing a grubby takeaway, but the Sand Man has actually done serious successfully before, check out the superb Uncut Gems for proof. 

Based on the 2017 Czech novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař, Sandler plays the titular cosmic explorer battling isolation at the edge of the solar system. Missing his wife (Carey Mulligan, no less) terribly, fears emerge about his sanity and then to make matters worse, he meets a giant space spider.

That last clause may have caught you a bit off guard. That's right, he meets a giant space spider, Hanus, who is voiced by Paul Dano, AKA The Riddler from The Batman. Luckily he seems to be friendly. 

He seems to speak (in a voice T3's Tech Editor described as like Michael Stuhlbarg from Boardwalk Empire) with an otherworldly ability and guides Sandler's astronaut through some supernatural encounters. Including meeting his wife who is supposed to be back on earth, and now she has red hair? We're very confused but the whole point of a trailer is to intrigue, so mission accomplished. 

I can truly say I've never seen anything like it and that's the brilliant thing about streaming services, even if something is quite out there they can take a chance on it. Whether it ends up a modern classic or just something a bit quirky, I'll be spending launch day watching along.  

If you are a keen sci-fi aficionado, then you'll probably want to check out Apple TV+ which seems to have made the genre its own recently.