George Clooney is still regarded as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, which is impressive when you consider that he hasn’t appeared in a movie for almost five years. The leading man of the Ocean’s franchise was last seen in a feature film in Jodie Foster’s underrated Money Monster, but he’ll be back on our screens later this year as he’s headlining Netflix’s upcoming sci-fi The Midnight Sky.
The apocalyptic tale is an adaptation of the novel Good Morning, Midnight, and follows what could be the last man left alive trapped in the Arctic following a cataclysmic event. After finding a child that he takes under his wing, the protagonist also attempts to contact an astronaut and her crew returning from Jupiter to tell them that there’s no point in coming back to Earth.
It sounds pretty out there and existential, with Clooney directing, producing and playing the lead role, backed by a solid ensemble that includes Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler and David Oyelowo. Now, the first official images from The Midnight Sky have been revealed, and you can check them out below.
There’s no denying that George Clooney is an incredibly talented filmmaker on both sides of the camera, having won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Syriana and scooped another for producing Argo, as well as picking up an additional three nods for Best Actor and one each for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay.
However, his track record as a director is marked by inconsistency, and he’s never been able to recapture the quality of his first two efforts Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck. The complete creative freedom afforded by Netflix could turn out to be a blessing or a curse for The Midnight Sky, then, depending on what kind of George Clooney we end up getting.