First look at Netflix’s ‘Don’t Look Up,’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence

Netflix had an immensely successful year amid the global coronavirus pandemic and is determined to keep the momentum going beyond 2020. As proof of that, the streaming giant has started the new year with a bang.

On January 12, Netflix released a video, boasting the release of a new original every week for the rest of the year, flaunting some of the biggest names of the industry.

The two-and-a-half minute 2021 film preview trailer includes 27 projects, one of which is Adam McKay’s star-studded comedy drama Don’t Look Up, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence in key roles. The duo looks nearly unrecognizable with DiCaprio sporting a beard and Lawrence turning into a redhead.

“I’m so thrilled to make this movie with Jen Lawrence. She’s what folks in the 17th century used to call a dynamite act. And the fact that Netflix sees this movie as a worldwide comedy sets the bar high for me and my team in an exciting and motivating way,” director Mckay said earlier this year.

The ensemble cast of Don't Look Up Collected

Leonardo DiCaprio was reportedly undecided about this project due to his prior commitment to Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. The actor seems to have sorted out his scheduling issues.

McKay, who directed Dick Cheney’s biopic Vice, which was as cynical and dark as its protagonist, wanted to return to something lighthearted.

The cast also includes Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep, Rob Morgan, Himesh Patel, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Matthew Perry, and Tomer Sisley.

The official synopsis of Don’t Look Up reads, “It tells the story of two low-level astronomers, who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet earth.”

Netflix enjoyed unprecedented critical acclaim last year and is even eyeing an Oscar for Best Picture. With six major contenders, Netflix is on its way to break all previous records held by major studios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) only bagged five Best Picture nominations in 1937 Academy Awards. The streaming giant is firm in its conviction to retain the critical and financial success of 2020.

The 2021 preview trailer starts with spy thriller Red Notice, starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds.

The trailer also includes first glimpse at all-Black Western The Harder They Fall  (Regina King, Jonathan Majors), Halle Berry‘s directorial debut, Bruised, superhero action-comedy from Melissa McCarthy, Thunder Force, Escape from Spiderhead with Chris Hemsworth, Zack Snyder‘s Army Of The Dead among others.