STX Entertainment has released the first trailer for The Space Between Us, an interplanetary adventurous romance, starring Asa Butterfield as Gardner Elliot -- a boy born on Mars during NASA's first attempt to colonize the Red Planet. Born on a different planet, Gardner's heart and bone-density aren't equipped to handle life on Earth, a reality becomes a problem when he meets up with an intrepid young girl Tulsa (Britt Robertson), and escapes the team of scientists moderating his health on a mission to find his father.
For a second there, the trailer almost looked like a second rate spin on The Martian (someone even says "bring him home!), but it finds its own tone about half way through and seems to be more of an interplanetary love story than anything else. It all looks a bit saccharine for my taste, but Butterfield and especially Robertson are commanding young actors, so if they've got the chemistry, it could be fun sci-fi-meets-romance romp.
Directed by Peter Chelsom (Hector and the Search for Happiness) from a screenplay by Allan Loeb (Rock of Ages), The Space Between Us also stars Gary Oldman and Carla Gugino, and arrives in theaters August 19th. Watch the trailer below.
Here's the official synopsis:
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.
