While we’re still only a few months into the new year, the 2026 movie schedule has already graced cinephiles with some intriguing titles. Among them is In the Blink of an Eye, a science fiction drama from Oscar-winning director Andrew Stanton. Co-leading the film are Rashida Jones and Daveed Diggs, who play a couple who experiences major life changes over a period of years. CinemaBlend recently spoke to both Diggs and Jones, who opened up about portraying a mixed-race couple and family dynamic in a sci-fi film like this one.
Stanton’s latest feature sees Jones and Diggs play Claire and Greg, respectively, who meet as grad students at a university and start up a relationship. The film then details the evolution of their bond, which soon transforms into a long-distance relationship and, in time, the pair marry and start a family. When I spoke to the previously mentioned actors, I noted the novelty of them being actors of color and playing top-billed roles in a sci-fi film. Diggs then proceeded to share an enthusiastic and thoughtful take:
It's really dope. You're right, it is rare. And for also, you know, to be just representative of what contemporary love is, right? Because we have three sections of this film. We are the contemporary section. So for, you know, to hang that on a mixed race family is really a beautiful thing. And it was, it was, yeah, it was thrilling to get to be a part of. It felt super normal. You know, it felt very much like how my life is, and I hope [we] managed to make it feel relatable to people, because it is like, that's the anchoring point of the movie. It's like, this is what we know, and here's everything before, and here's everything after.
The Hamilton alum also makes a great point in that Greg and Claire also represent modern love in the film, which also features two other storylines set in the past (which WALL-E influenced) and the distant future. While there are indeed great-Black led science fiction films, it still feels as though this is a genre that could use a tad more diversification. Like her co-star Rashida Jones also relished the chance to work on In the Blink of an Eye, and she got candid about what her state of mind was amidst filming:
We did have a lot of emotional distance. Well, I at least did, because I think I was, you know, struggling with life stuff and whether or not I could make this work or open up my heart. It didn't really work into Claire's life plan.
Claire is portrayed as a very precise person, who prefers to have every detail of her life planned out. That desire for order, however, is challenged when she receives tragic news. In terms of her character’s reluctance to start a relationship with Greg, the Social Network alum explained why she found that so relatable:
I'm thinking a lot about [how] Daveed very nicely plays this person, who is so patient and just kind of sticks around and waits for her to, kind of like, deal with her own mechanisms in her brain and waits and just waits it out, which is…. I have a lot of friends who have been in situations where, like, ‘I don't know, and this guy blah, blah, blah’. It's so nice to see that portrayed so well on screen by him, because you just don't see that that often.
Many of the best romantic comedies of all time have tackled the complex aspects of romantic relationships, though said dynamics can, of course, also be examined through the lenses of other genres. Regardless of where it crops up, it’s sweet to see a film tackle Black love and by extension, modern romance. Check out Daveed Diggs and Rashida Jones’ work In the Blink of an Eye now using a Hulu subscription.
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