Adam Sandler's next dramatic role sees him becoming an astronaut in an as-yet-untitled upcoming Netflix drama. Sandler established himself as a comedy icon years ago, starring in goofy classics like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and The Waterboy. Even through his flops such as Jack and Jill or Pixels, the SNL veteran's early comedies have remained massively popular over the years.
However, Sandler surprised audiences in 2019 when he departed from his usual comedic roles to star in the Safdie Brothers’ intense crime thriller Uncut Gems. The film saw Sandler as a jeweler and gambling addict named Howard Ratner who is desperate to pay off debt collectors. Despite Sandler's performance considered to be one of the year's best and receiving early Oscar buzz, fans were disappointed to see him snubbed at this year's Oscars. Of course, Uncut Gems wasn't the first time he proved his dramatic chops. In 2002, he starred in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love and garnered Oscar buzz in 2017 for his performance in Noah Baumbach's The Meyerowitz Stories. Soon Sandler will be demonstrating his dramatic acting abilities again.
According to Deadline, Sandler is set to star in an untitled Netflix drama film directed by Emmy-winner Johan Renck (Chernobyl). Colby Day will adapt the script based on Jaroslav Kalfar’s sci-fi novel The Spaceman of Bohemia. The story centers around an astronaut (Sandler) sent on a mission to the edge of the galaxy in search of mysterious dust when he discovers an ancient creature lurking on his ship. "As we prepare for our voyage to Chopra, I couldn’t be more pleased to have found the perfect partner in Adam," said Renck. "And now, with the support of the brilliant Netflix family, I am profoundly excited to set off on our impossible journey."
Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, Peter Kiernan, and Michael Parets will produce the film via their Free Association company, alongside Tim Headington, Lia Buman, and Max Silva for Tango Entertainment. Ben Ormand, Renck, and Barry Bernardi will executive produce. Sandler has had a multi-picture deal with Netflix since 2015. Horror-comedy Hubie Halloween is Sandler's most recent film to debut on the streaming platform. His next Netflix project is the sports comedy Hustle, where he'll play a down-on-his-luck basketball recruiter.
With such a polarizing career as Sandler's, it's always interesting to see what the actor's next project is. Though many of his recent comedy films have been hit-or-miss, his dramatic roles have impressed fans and critics. It's not clear yet if this astronaut role will be quite as intense as Uncut Gems, but Adam Sandler playing an astronaut is certainly intriguing, especially as the actor has proven himself to have quite the range.
Source: Deadline