Fox Searchlight has officially scheduled Natalie Portman’s Lucy in the Sky for an October release date. In the wake of Disney finalizing its purchase of Fox’s entertainment assets in March, there was a whole lot of uncertainty about which upcoming Fox films would eventually see the light of day. After all, the studio and its subsidiaries had recently finished production on a number of movies, ranging from James Gray’s space adventure Ad Astra to Blue Sky’s animated feature, Spies in Disguise. Thankfully, most of these projects have since been reshuffled.

Among the titles that’ve been waiting to get a release date is Lucy in the Sky, a true story-inspired drama directed by Fargo and Legion TV show creator Noah Hawley (making his feature debut). The teaser trailer released in March, so it’s been clear for a while now the film will be hitting theaters… some day. Now, it’s finally been confirmed for a fall premiere.

Lucy in the Sky received an official October 4, 2019 release date this morning, courtesy of Fox Searchlight. The film was loosely inspired by Lisa Nowak, a real-life former astronaut who, in 2007, drove from Houston to Orlando to try and kidnap her ex-lover and fellow astronaut William Oefelein’s new partner, Colleen Shipman. Portman’s character in the movie, Lucy Cola, is partly based on Nowak, while Jon Hamm (Good Omens) and Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2) are playing fictionalized versions of Oefelein and Shipman.

Previously, Fox had been holding onto October 4 for director Joe Wright and Amy Adams’ mystery novel adaptation, The Woman in the Window. However, the film was recently delayed to early 2020 in order to undergo some retooling and reshoots. Its old date will now go to Lucy in the Sky instead, meaning the latter will open directly against Joker (which, coincidentally, Beetz also costars in) at the box office. It’s further one of two films Fox Searchlight has scheduled for October at the moment, in addition to Taika Waititi’s Hitler satire Jojo Rabbit (which is slated to arrive two weeks later).

Beyond that, this means both Lucy in the Sky and Jojo Rabbit are in a strong position to become contenders in this year’s awards season. An early October release served A Star is Born especially well last year, and Fox Searchlight would no doubt love for Hawley’s film to become a hit in its own right. For now, though, it’s difficult to say what the odds are of that happening. Lucy in the Sky isn’t slated to premiere at any major festivals in the coming month, which isn’t necessarily a great sign. Not to mention, Hawley’s reach has exceeded his grasp on his TV shows before, so there’s a risk his feature debut will prove to be a similarly visually-dazzling mess when it arrives. Here’s hoping for the best, of course.

Source: Fox Searchlight

  • Lucy in the Sky Release Date: 2019-10-04