Noah Hawley’s ‘Pale Blue Dot’ Adds Ellen Burstyn But Loses Its Title

The cast for Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley’s sci-fi drama Pale Blue Dot keeps getting better, although it may be going a name change. More on that in a sec. Variety reports  Requiem for a Dream’s Ellen Burstyn has joined Natalie Portman, Jon Hamm, Dan Stevens, and Zazie Beetz. Burstyn was most recently seen in Nostalgia, which happened to co-star Hamm. Wonder if that had anything to do with it?

The film was once going to be led by Reese Witherspoon but she got busy with Big Little Lies’ second season. She’s still listed as a producer on the film which is described as following ” a female astronaut who, after coming back home from a mission in space, starts to unravel when confronted by her seemingly-perfect life. The film explores the theory that astronauts who spend long periods of time in space lose their sense of reality when they return home.” Jon Hamm will play the astronaut she aggressively pursues upon returning, while Stevens is her husband.  Burstyn will play the grandmother to Portman’s character, who some think draws inspiration from real-life astronaut Lisa Nowak.

Variety’s report calls the movie “untitled” and no longer known as Pale Blue Dot. A shame because I always thought that was a pretty good title to go by. Whatever it’s called, production should in spring 2019.