Aliens, Americana, and Wes Anderson: See Star-Studded ‘Asteroid City’ Trailer

Filmmaker Wes Anderson will point his telescope toward outer space this summer with his new film, Asteroid City. In a trailer for the movie, due out June 16, a father’s car breaks down somewhere in the desert where he’s taking his kids for “Asteroid Day” in 1955. From there, things get (surprise!) really quirky as people start questioning the existence of aliens, hover above the ground in jetpacks, and offer to show each other their nude scenes.

“Some of our information about outer space may no longer be completely accurate,” a teacher tells a class. “Anyway, there’s still only nine planets in the solar system, as far we know. … Billy?” She asks a child raising his hand.

“Except that now there’s an alien,” he says.

The movie stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, and Jeffery Wright. The cast also includes a typically Andersonian collection of actors: Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Jake Ryan, Tony Revolori, and Jeff Goldblum.

In addition to directing the film, Anderson wrote the screenplay (based on a story that he and Roman Coppola came up with) and co-produced it.

“I don’t like the way that guy looked at us, the alien,” Schartzman’s character tells Johansson.

“How did he look?” she asks.

“Like we’re doomed,” he says.

“Maybe we are,” she responds as whimsical, vaguely Hawaiian music plays in the background. After that, the government puts Asteroid City on lockdown — and it seems like that’s when the real fun begins.