Netflix's Remarkably Bright Creatures Trailer Has Me In My Feelings Over Sally Field's Friendship With An Octopus

The 2026 movie schedule is treating audiences to more than a few book-to-screen adaptations, and one of those is Remarkably Bright Creatures, which is adapted from Shelby Van Pelt’s 2022 novel of the same name. Van Pelt’s book has earned a considerable amount of popularity since its release, so it’s not surprising that a film adaptation is on the way. So far, fans have only gotten a small taste of the upcoming movie, which is set to hit Netflix, but a new trailer now gives a fuller look at this lovely tale.

Remarkably Bright Creatures tells the story of a widow named Tova (played by Sally Field), who works the night-shift as a cleaner at an aquarium. It’s during her work hours that she meets and befriends a large Pacific octopus named Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina). The meeting between the two unlikely friends coincides with the arrival of an out-of-towner named Cameron (Lewis Pullman), who is searching for his father. In time, Tova and Cameron find themselves uncovering an intriguing mystery.

Much of that story seems to be teased well in the trailer, which can be seen above, and it all looks so sweet. I’ve admittedly seen my fair share of movies that are anchored by unlikely friendships, but I’d still be lying if I said I didn’t find the teases of Tova’s bond with Marcellus lovely. Such unique character bonds can be hard to sell but, in this case, I’d say it helps to have an Oscar winner in Sally Field. It goes without saying that Field has put in incredible performances, and I’m already loving what I see of her portrayal of the sweet Tova.

Of course, there’s also still the relationship that Tova has with Pullman’s Cameron, which also seems quite pleasant. Based on this trailer alone, what we have here is a burgeoning surrogate mother-and-son relationship. It’s also great to see Lewis Pullman in a somewhat smaller movie and getting to work with a legend. Pullman (who’s not on social media) has been carving out a sweet lane for himself and has been steadily sliding out of the shadow of his famous father, Bill Pullman (who’s also his Spaceballs 2 co-star).

As for the cast, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Colm Meaney, Sofia Black-D’Elia and Beth Grant are also pat of the ensemble. Overall, it would seem that a solid ensemble cast has been assembled for this book adapation.

This feature film take on Van Pelt’s book is being directed by Olivia Newman, and she has prior experience when it comes to book adaptations. Newman previously directed 2022’s Where the Crawdads Sing, an adaptation of the book of the same name by Delia Owens (who was involved in the creative process. Hopefully, such creative synergy runs is also true for Remarkably Bright Creatures and that Newman looked to Van Pelt for inspiration at times.

Remarkably Beautiful Creatures will be available for Netflix subscription holders to stream, beginning on May 8.