Last month, we got to see a teaser trailer for Netflix’s reboot of the classic 1960’s sci-fi series, Lost in Space. Today, Netflix released a full trailer which gives us more of a glimpse of what the show will look like, and the source of the voice that warns, “Danger, Will Robinson!” It’s a bit different than the original!
As we saw in the teaser trailer, rather than being for the sheer purpose of exploration, the Robinson family seems to be going on this mission into space out of necessity, as it seems that Earth can no longer support life the way it once did (thanks, climate change!). That teaser ended with their ship in the process of crashing.
This trailer basically picks up where the teaser left off. The Robinsons have crash-landed on another planet, and have to figure out how they’re going to survive and salvage their ship, and their mission. One of the most interesting parts of the trailer is what youngest child, Will Robinson (played by Max Jenkins) finds when exploring the planet:
Whereas the Robot on the original show was part of the mission specifically there, in part, to protect the family’s youngest child, this Robot (is it even a robot?) is a being that Will finds on the planet and befriends. I really love that, as I’m a sucker for sci-fi in which kids befriend robots or aliens or any other strange beings and have to teach the adults how to communicate and love.
These two seem to form a trusting bond pretty quickly, and the being’s instinct seems to be to protect Will. However, Will’s dad John (Toby Stephens) definitely wants to know I’ll be really curious to see how this creature’s integration into the group pans out.
While this show certainly does seem a bit “darker” in tone (both visually and emotionally), moments like this between Will and the Robot, or like Maureen Robinson (Molly Parker) smiling as she walks toward their spaceship with her son, point to an underlying optimism that I hope the series maintains. While they’ll likely be dealing with real-world ecological problems, just as the original series was very much influenced by the real-life goings-on of the Cold War, this hopefully doesn’t mean that this version will lose the original’s excitement about exploration.
I love that a female of color has been added to the main cast, with Taylor Russell playing Robinson daughter Judy, the family’s oldest child. It’s an interesting choice, and a great way to show that families in the future (hell, families today) can be as diverse amongst themselves as the world is around them.
Lastly, I’m thrilled that Parker Posey is playing Dr. Smith, the saboteur responsible for the family being “lost in space” in the first place, a character that was male on the original show. I love me some Parker Posey, and I am all for gender-flipping characters for whom gender is not integral to the plot.
What do you all think? Will you be watching this new take on Lost in Space? Tell us below! And if your name happens to be Will Robinson, let us know if you’ve been spammed yet!
(via Nerdist, image: screencap/Netflix)
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