Trailer: Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City lands stellar cast, trademark quirk, aliens

The first trailer for Wes Anderson’s latest picture, Asteroid City, has dropped, showcasing many of the director’s beloved trademark: a marvelous cast, varying aspect ratios and insanely precise symmetry.

Asteroid City’s official plot synopsis: “The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.”

As previously reported, Asteroid City has an insanely stacked cast of {takes deep breath}: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, and Jeff Goldblum, many of whom are featured in the trailer and a number of whom have worked with Anderson in the past. Notably missing is Bill Murray, who has appeared in every other Anderson project except for his debut, 1996’s Bottle Rocket. Fortunately, there’s no rift between the collaborators; turns out Murray caught Covid-19 just before cameras were set to roll, instead presumably being replaced by Steve Carell. Also of note, Asteroid City has been rated R by the MPAA, although Focus Features has announced plans to appeal.

Asteroid City is Wes Anderson’s 11th feature. 2023 will also see the release of his 12th, an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar, which has its own impressive cast of Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Richard Ayoade, and more. That film is set to premiere on Netflix this fall.

Asteroid City lands in theaters on June 16th, the month after it premieres at the Cannes Film Festival, where both Moonrise Kingdom and The French Dispatch debuted. It will be featured along a number of other major films, including Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fourth installment in the franchise. There is no word yet if it will be competing for the Palme d’Or.

What do you think of the trailer for Asteroid City? Where do you think it will sit among your favorite Wes Anderson movies? Let us know in the comments section below!