Interstellar Soars With Its First Teaser Trailer

Our destiny lies above us.

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

“One Year From Now.” Yesterday saw the worldwide opening of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Attached to IMAX screenings of the second installment of The Hobbit film trilogy was the first teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. While the teaser doesn’t feature any plot details, it does fill its viewer with a sense of wonder and awe, as it reminds the audience that “we’re still pioneers.”

The teaser trailer features archival footage from NASA and humanity’s history of space exploration, from the first man in outer space to the first man on the Moon. Throughout the trailer Matthew McConaughey’s character is explaining that we used to explore space and now we don’t. He dares us to believe that our greatest accomplishments are not behind us, but rather in front of us. The trailer ends with a rocket blasting off from a Midwestern cornfield.

While you don’t get a sense of what Interstellar is about with the teaser trailer, it does get you excited at the big themes Christopher Nolan is likely to tackle in the sci-fi film. In some ways, the trailer feels like Robert Zemeckis’ 1997 film Contact, which also starred Matthew McConaughey. While Contact was based on astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan’s novel, Interstellar is based on the writings of theoretical physicist/astrophysicist Kip Thorne, who is also the film’s creative consultant and executive producer. It seems like Interstellar might be as ambitious as Zemeckis’ 1997 film, and perhaps it will inspire a new generation to explore the stars and the universe.

The Interstellar trailer is one of those rare teasers that doesn’t give an audience an abundance of story or characters, but rather it delivers the film’s tone and hints at larger themes. It seems like Christopher Nolan is back tackling bigger ideas than what were featured in The Dark Knight trilogy, which is refreshing considering all the superhero movies The Dark Knight inspired. I’m glad Christopher Nolan is done with Batman and superheroes because I like when he makes movies that deal with grander ideas, such as in Inception and The Prestige.

As for the film, the details of the film’s story are still a bit vague, despite Paramount releasing the following official plot synopsis: “A group of explorers make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.” It’s rumored that the film might involve parallel dimensions, and could involve climate change too.

Christopher Nolan co-wrote Interstellar with Jonathan Nolan, his writing partner and brother, while he also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his producing partner and wife. Lynda Obst will also serve as the film’s producer.

Interstellar stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, John Lithgow, Casey Affleck, David Gyasi, Wes Bentley, Mackenzie Foy, Timothée Chalamet, Topher Grace, David Oyelowo, Ellen Burstyn, and Michael Caine.

Interstellar hits theaters everywhere on November 7, 2014, in IMAX.