What we know about Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up”
Last week, Netflix released a trailer showcasing the biggest titles in its 2021 slate. The streaming giant plans on releasing 72 films over the year. To put the magnitude of that schedule in perspective, in 2015, Netflix released just one original film, Beasts Of No Nation, starring Idris Elba. Six years later they have a more than impressive lineup for 2021, and perhaps the true heavyweight of the list is Don’t Look Up, Adam McKay’s follow-up to Vice, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, with supporting roles provided by Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Timothée Chalamet, Matthew Perry, Himesh Patel, Cate Blanchett, Kid Cudi, Rob Morgan, and Tomer Sisley.
There are little to no details about the film outside of a summary: “Don’t Look Up follows two astronomers who set out on a media tour to warn the public that a meteor will destroy Earth in just six months.” DiCaprio and Lawrence play the astronauts and, in an interview with Stephen Colbert, Meryl Streep revealed she will be playing the President of the United States. “ It’s about a global catastrophe but, it’s sort of funny like Dr. Strangelove for 2020 about global warming, a metaphor of that. I play the President of the United States,” she said to Colbert. She also revealed Jonah Hill will play her son. Details regarding the rest of the cast are unknown.
Both DiCaprio and Lawrence are notoriously picky when it comes to the roles they choose. For Dicaprio, his attachment is, to many, an early stamp of approval. The same can be said for Lawrence and the rest of the supporting cast. Adam McKay is relatively hot off the heels of Vice (2018), which garnered Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Directing, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress nominations at the 2019 academy awards. His previous film, The Big Short, was arguably more critically acclaimed and was nominated for five Academy Awards. It won for Best Adapted Screenplay.
McKay has had somewhat of a career revival after making the shift to dramatic film. McKay was known for his comedic works like Step Brothers, Anchorman, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby throughout most of his career and has incorporated his comedic strengths in his dramatic projects.
Don’t Look Up is a film to keep an eye on in the coming months. Netflix has yet to announce a release date, but expect it to arrive later in the year before Oscar campaigning begins. It will most likely be a heavyweight in the race — the cast alone could tell you that — and Adam McKay has only seen success, both critical and financial, with his last two films. Keep Don’t Look Up on your radar, and expect a trailer later in 2021.
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