Of course in the future, when we’ve colonized other planets, the thing connecting humans will be the Internet. Asa Butterfield (who we last saw as Ender Wiggin in Ender’s Game) stars as Gardner, the only human ever born on Mars, while Tulsa (Tomorrowland‘s Britt Robertson) is an average Earthling, and they meet-cute through instant-messaging. But when he escapes to Earth in a reverse take on The Martian, all of the astronauts and scientists who have kept him alive (and secret) on a distant planet have to deal with the publicity nightmare of a “Martian” wandering around Earth in search of his true love.
The movie also stars Carla Gugino as Gardner’s mother figure-slash-scientist, Gary Oldman as the creator of the Mars program, and B.D. Wong bringing heart to the whole thing. Here’s a more detailed summary, and you can watch the trailer below:
In this interplanetary adventure, a space shuttle embarks on the first mission to colonize Mars, only to discover after takeoff that one of the astronauts is pregnant. Shortly after landing, she dies from complications while giving birth to the first human born on the red planet—never revealing who the father is. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Gardner Elliot—an inquisitive, highly intelligent boy who reaches the age of 16 having only met 14 people in his very unconventional upbringing.
While searching for clues about his father, and the home planet he’s never known, Gardner begins an online friendship with a street smart girl in Colorado named Tulsa. When he finally gets a chance to go to Earth, he’s eager to experience all of the wonders he could only read about on Mars—from the most simple to the extraordinary. But once his explorations begin, scientists discover that Gardner’s organs can’t withstand Earth’s atmosphere.
Eager to find his father, Gardner escapes the team of scientists and joins with Tulsa on a race against time to unravel the mysteries of how he came to be, and where he belongs in the universe.
The Space Between Us escapes to Earth on August 19.
