Vanessa Kirby is heading back into space, at least on screen. The ”Fantastic Four” actor will star opposite Lewis Pullman in ”The Spacesuit”, a new astronaut thriller from Australian filmmaker Kitty Green that centers on two pilots preparing for a mission and the dangerous incident that derails their relationship before liftoff.
The project adds another buzzy genre title to Kirby’s already crowded Marvel runway. She and Pullman are also due to appear in the new ”Avengers” film, ”Avengers: Doomsday”, which means Marvel is getting an unusually tidy casting loop out of its own alumni.
Kitty Green moves from workplace pressure to space pressure
Green built her reputation on sharp, tense material such as ”The Assistant” and ”Hotel Royal”, so a story about two astronauts under stress fits the pattern. The difference is scale: instead of office politics or domestic unease, the pressure now comes with a spacecraft, a mission clock, and the sort of bad decision that can turn a partnership into a liability.
”The Spacesuit” will be presented to buyers at the Cannes film market in May, which is the real checkpoint here. Space-set thrillers are expensive enough to scare off weak financing and familiar enough to attract buyers who want a recognizable hook, so the movie arrives with a pitch that is both simple and commercially legible.
Why this casting makes sense
- Vanessa Kirby brings Marvel visibility and a strong dramatic profile.
- Lewis Pullman adds another rising name already tied to a major studio franchise.
- Kitty Green has a track record for tension-driven storytelling rather than glossy spectacle.
The pairing also follows a familiar industry playbook: use franchise names to help a more original film get attention before audiences ever see a trailer. If ”The Spacesuit” lands the right buyers in Cannes, it could become one of those mid-budget genre titles that looks small on paper and expensive in expectations.
What to watch after Cannes
The immediate question is whether the film is being sold as a thriller, a character piece, or both. That balance will decide whether ”The Spacesuit” feels like a sharp sci-fi drama or just another prestige package with a good title and a better cast.