We've been waiting years for Children of Men director Alfonso Cuarón's next film, and tonight at CinemaCon we finally saw our first glimpse of Gravity. It was quick and dirty, but completely terrifying. Here's what we saw.


The footage we saw set up the entire film. The only bit of information we've ever had on this flick is this one line synopsis "Astronauts attempt to return to earth after debris crashes into their space shuttle, leaving them drifting alone in space." What was shown was this moment, and only this moment.

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock hovering outside of some sort of spacecraft in modern-day space suits. Clooney's voice crackles over a radio, "It's gorgeous isn't it, the sunrise?" And he gestures to the Earth, which is simply twinkling in gorgeous light. They nod toward each other, a moment of silence while orbiting their home planet. And then, they're hit. You can't tell what hits the astronauts — but they're showered with some sort of space debris. It's possible it could be a meteor shower. The space station is shattered. One floating astronaut helplessly drags his or her fingers across the side of the station. The other grapples with some sort of tubing. "Don't let go," comes Bullock's voice. But it's too late. They're separated, and she's floating away. Ever so slowly. You can hear her breathing pick up as she floats farther and farther away from the damaged craft.


We're not 100% sure if Clooney manages to stay near the wreck, but Bullock is 100% gone. This was a fantastic teaser trailer as it basically set up the footage. It's clear we're not dealing with an alien or any other sort of strange post-apocalyptic disaster. This is a simple case of "space is scary and it's even scarier when you're going to watch yourself die in it."

All in all, it felt like one minute — but it was intense enough to leave a massive impression. Let's hope Cuarón keeps the real "terror in space" vibe alive through the end.

Image from Solaris.