Jennifer Lopez has really been stretching her legs in terms of genre filmmaking as of late. Shotgun Wedding and The Mother gave the singer/actor a huge boost in the action world, and as of late Lopez has been dabbling in sci-fi. Which has led to the multi-talented performer getting lost in space on the 2024 movie schedule, thanks to Netflix’s upcoming movie Atlas.
Frankly, I’m totally hear for it, as Jennifer has been proving herself in spaces she hasn't previously embraced. You can see as much in Netflix’s first look at the Brad Peyton directed sci-fi thriller, as well as through some preliminary details on what the film is about. Here’s the official synopsis detailing what we know so far about Atlas’ plot:
Atlas Shepherd, a brilliant but misanthropic data analyst with a deep distrust of artificial intelligence, joins a mission to capture a renegade robot with whom she shares a mysterious past. But when plans go awry, her only hope of saving the future of humanity from AI is to trust it.
Despite Atlas' 2021 announcement calling the story shots, it sounds like an extremely timely story for the world we live in today. With Jennifer Lopez’s titular character having that very specific relationship with A.I., writers Leo Sardarian and Aron Eli Coleite have tapped into the present consciousness around such matters.
At the same time, this story sounds like it harkens back to the time worn story of enemies becoming allies, in the hopes that everyone can survive in the end. And no, your eyes don’t deceive you, as you very much saw Barbie’s Simu Liu and American Fiction’s Sterling K. Brown in the trailer for Atlas as well. So if you thought your Oscar night hangover was coming back to play tricks on you, don’t worry.
Atlas just happens to have an amazing cast for its sci-fi epic, all of whom could be playing for either side of that ethical divide. And with that stunning roster comes even more mysteries waiting to unfold from the futuristic visuals we've seen glimpses of. While we’re obviously going to have to wait for a deeper look into the world of Atlas, what’s been teased is a promising start.
It’s certainly a good time for another Jennifer Lopez sci-fi epic to drop, as indicated by the internet’s reactions to This Is Me…Now. As this picture doesn’t look anywhere near as unhinged as that previous streaming exclusive, it’ll be exciting to see how Jennifer fares with a more traditional science fiction/action flick.
We won't have to wait too long for the results, as Atlas suits up and fires those thrusters to land on the device of choice for you Netflix subscription holders, starting May 24th. However, if you want to try and track down some of the best sci-fi movies in existence, we've got just the guide to help you commit to that quest.
