Is Adam Sandler's Spaceman based on a novel? Details explored

Adam Sandler’s science fiction drama film from streaming platform Netflix, Spaceman, is set to premiere on March 1, 2024. The upcoming Netflix film will be based on the science fiction novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař. The science fiction film received a brand new trailer featuring Sandler in space.

The synopsis for the film, according to Netflix, reads,

“Six months into a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system, an astronaut, Jakub (Adam Sandler), realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth.”

It further reads,

“Desperate to fix things with his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious creature from the beginning of time he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. Hanuš (voiced by Paul Dano) works with Jakub to make sense of what went wrong before it is too late.”

The cast also features Kunal Nayyar, Isabella Rossellini, and Lena Olin.

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Adam Sandler’s Spaceman explored

Netflix announced on October 26, 2020, that Jaroslav Kalfař’s 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia will be adapted into a film of the same name, with Adam Sandler as the lead, Johan Renck as the director, and Colby Day as the screenwriter. Later, Carey Mulligan was also announced to be in the lead besides Sandler in April 2021 with a new title, Spaceman.

The novel by Kalfař’ is told from the point of view of Jakub Procházka, who is the first independent Czech Republic astronaut. Jakub is sent into space to inspect the cloud of “intergalactic dust” near Venus.

In the novel, other countries are not willing to risk sending their astronauts for the inspection of the dust, but Jakub takes the job of traveling in space in order to escape his past. While on a solo mission in space, he befriends a giant alien spider, whose name is Hanuš.

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Spaceman trailer explored

The teaser showed Adam Sandler in a spacesuit walking into a river. Now, the trailer for Spaceman has provided more about the storyline as it opens with Sandler as Jakub floating in what appears to be his spacecraft, where Commissioner Tuma, played by Isabella Rossellini, asks him about his “feeling” in the space.

During the conversation between Jakub and Tuma, it is clear that he is on a solo mission. Later, he says that he is doing the space mission for “everyone back home," which makes him very proud. In the next shot, Tuma asks Jakub about his wife, Lenka, played by Carey Mulligan.

Following that, Tuma is seen talking to Lenka, telling her that Jakub is not well and misses his wife. To which Lenka responds, saying that he shouldn’t have left. In the next scene, Jakub is running on a treadmill, and we get to know that six months have passed since he started his space journey.

In the spacecraft, Jakub hears the voice of an alien spider named Hanuš. The spider refers to Jakub as his friend. After looking at Hanuš, Jakub appears to be losing his mind, hinting that he might be imagining the alien spider. Hanuš mentions that he is like Jakub, who loves to explore. Jakub’s loneliness appears to have intrigued Hanuš, who says that he will help Jakub.

The trailer ends by showcasing brilliant space scenes of Sandler on a mission with the alien spider.

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Spaceman stars Adam Sandler, Pual Dano, Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini. The Netflix film will premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024.