Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’ Trailer Is Space-Race Perfection

Focus Features

Wes Anderson is leaning toward sci-fi in his upcoming summer film, Asteroid City—which takes place in the desert and features a pastel washed space race aesthetic, laser beams, and even a possible invasion from above. The film’s first trailer, released Monday, teases all of Anderson’s hallmarks, from its meticulously romantic production to the quiet longing hiding underneath it.

Asteroid City takes place in the 1950s, in a tiny desert town off the freeway where Jason Schwartzman and his kids find themselves stranded, after their car literally explodes. (Jake Ryan, who previously collaborated with Anderson on Moonrise Kingdom and Isle of Dogs, plays Schwartzman’s son.) Schwartzman must call his father-in-law—played by Anderson newcomer Tom Hanks—for help. The sun-bathed trailer unfolds like a series of mid century vacation posters, even as the town endures a paranormal event that lands them in quarantine.

Beyond Hanks, Schwartzman, and Ryan, stand-outs in the trailer include Scarlett Johansson, who plays a languishing actress; Jeffrey Wright, who informs us that a meteor struck the city in September 23, 3,007 B.C., an event commemorated on “Asteroid Day;” and Maya Hawke, who appears as a schoolteacher.

The film’s massive ensemble cast also includes Hong Chau, Margot Robbie, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum and Rita Wilson, Variety reports.

Not among the list, however, is Anderson mainstay Bill Murray. While originally cast in the film, he reportedly dropped out before the film’s September 2021 shoot began, after contracting COVID-19. Carell stepped in to fill Murray’s vacated role.

As IndieWire notes, the film also reunites Anderson with several former production collaborators as well—including composer Alexandre Desplat, cinematographer Robert Yeoman, and The Grand Budapest Hotel editor Barney Pilling.

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The film is expected to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, according to Variety, with a limited theatrical release set for June 16 and a wide release June 23.

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