Having made audiences crack up with the likes of Anchorman and Step Brothers, Adam McKay has proven that he's one of the smartest and most versatile directors around by following these up comedies with The Other Guys, The Big Short and Vice.
Well, the Oscar-winning director has assembled another all-star cast in his new feature, Don't Look Up.
Led by Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio, the duo play a pair of astronomers, Kate Dibiasky and Dr. Randall Mindy, who are attempting to warn the world about the apocalyptic threat presented by an approaching comet.
Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within the solar system.
The problem — it’s on a direct collision course with Earth. The other problem? No one really seems to care.
Turns out warning mankind about a planet-killer the size of Mount Everest is an inconvenient fact to navigate. With the help of Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an indifferent President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an upbeat morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry).
With only six months until the comet makes impact, managing the 24-hour news cycle and gaining the attention of the social media obsessed public before it’s too late proves shockingly comical — what will it take to get the world to just look up?!
Given McKay's unique ability to balance laughs, real-life drama and topical issues that need to be discussed, this could be one of the films of the year.
The film's stunning cast also includes Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Rob Morgan, Mark Rylance, Ron Perlman, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Himesh Patel, Melanie Lynskey, Michael Chiklis, Tomer Sisley, and Chris Evans.
Don't Look Up is released on December 24 on Netflix and it will also be shown in select cinemas.
Given the star power involved in this project, Don't Look Up might be a strong runner in the Oscar race.
