# Starman (upcoming film)
**Starman** is an upcoming cosmic science-fiction thriller written and directed by Josh Wakely, starring [Brendan Fraser](https://www.edgepedia.org/brendan-fraser) as Tom Adams, a technologist who leads a Mars mission and becomes stranded millions of miles from Earth.[1](https://www.productionlist.com/production/starman) The film marks Wakely's live-action feature directorial debut and entered principal photography in Australia in June 2026.[1](https://www.productionlist.com/production/starman) • [2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) Its release date has not been announced; the French database AlloCiné lists a 2028 production year.[3](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D1000045389.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Genre and premise | Cosmic sci-fi thriller: Tom Adams leads a groundbreaking Mars mission, and when unforeseen events strand him far from Earth, his mission becomes a race against time driven by survival and love[1](https://www.productionlist.com/production/starman) |
| Writer-director | Josh Wakely, an Emmy-winning filmmaker raised in Newcastle, Australia; his first live-action feature as director[1](https://www.productionlist.com/production/starman) • [2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) |
| Lead cast | Brendan Fraser (Tom Adams) and two-time Emmy winner Jeff Daniels (Ed Watkins), with Aisling Bea as Julia Hanley[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088172/news) |
| Production companies | Grace: A Storytelling Company (Wakely's banner) and Sight Unseen; financed by Tarek Sherif, Ryan Graves, and Matt Tedder[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) |
| Filming | Principal photography began June 2026 in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and Disney Studios Australia at Moore Park[5](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/starman-sydney-brendan-fraser-jeff-daniels-39231/) |
| Economic footprint | Supported by Screen NSW's Made in NSW Fund; expected to generate over $23 million in NSW expenditure and an estimated 229 local cast and crew jobs[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) |
| Sales and release | International sales handled by Anton, launched at the Marché du Film de Cannes; release date to be announced[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) • [3](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D1000045389.html) |
## Premise
In the film, Tom Adams (played by Fraser) is portrayed as an architect of the future, a man placing himself at the leading edge of humanity's next great frontier through a pioneering Mars mission. After unexpected difficulties strand him millions of miles from Earth, his mission becomes a desperate fight motivated as much by love as by survival.[1](https://www.productionlist.com/production/starman) Ed Watkins, his longtime partner and co-leader of the transformative company they built together, plays a central role in the emotional stakes of the mission.[6](https://www.movieinsider.com/m14256/starman)
## Cast
Brendan Fraser, an Academy Award winner, leads the film as Tom Adams.[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) Jeff Daniels, a two-time Emmy winner, plays Ed Watkins, Adams' longtime business partner and co-leader of the company they built together.[7](https://popcornwire.com/news/brendan-fraser-ventures-to-mars-in-sci-fi-thriller-starman) The supporting cast combines international and Australian actors: BAFTA-winning Irish actress, writer, and comedian [Aisling Bea](https://www.edgepedia.org/aisling-bea) plays Julia Hanley, a defiant and magnetic Irish photographer who sees past Tom's world-changing ambition to the man beneath it, and the Australian ensemble includes [Claudia Karvan](https://www.edgepedia.org/claudia-karvan), Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Ewen Leslie, [Stephen Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-curry-comedian), Huw Higginson, and Heather Mitchell, with newcomer Oliver Aldrich also joining.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088172/news) • [2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw)
## Production
The project was announced in May 2026, when Deadline reported that Fraser would star in the cosmic sci-fi thriller from Wakely's original screenplay.[8](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/brendan-fraser-blasting-off-high-171500682.html) As of May 26, 2026, the industry directory Production List carried the project in pre-production, with production set to begin in summer 2026.[1](https://www.productionlist.com/production/starman) [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) commenced in June 2026, and by July 2026 tracking services listed the film as in production.[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) • [6](https://www.movieinsider.com/m14256/starman)
**Filming in New South Wales.** Production is based in Sydney, with locations across the city, in the [Blue Mountains](https://www.edgepedia.org/blue-mountains-new-south-wales), and at Disney Studios Australia in Moore Park.[5](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/starman-sydney-brendan-fraser-jeff-daniels-39231/) The film is backed by Screen NSW's Made in NSW Fund, the same fund that in 2026 supported productions including *Kockroach*, *Extraction 3*, *The Big Fix*, and *[Greyhound 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/greyhound-2)*.[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) Screen NSW estimates the film will generate over $23 million in expenditure for the [New South Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-south-wales) economy and create an estimated 229 local cast and crew jobs.[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) Producer Rebecca Graham of Grace: A Storytelling Company credited the state with providing the scale, locations, and hundreds of local crew the film needed.[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw)
**Producers and financing.** Starman is a Grace: A Storytelling Company production, produced by Wakely and Rebecca Graham for Grace and by Eddie Vaisman of Sight Unseen, who most recently produced Fraser's Searchlight film *[Rental Family](https://www.edgepedia.org/rental-family)*.[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) Executive producing duties fall to [David S. Goyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-s-goyer) of *Batman Begins* and *Batman v Superman* fame, joined by Tarek Sherif, Ryan Graves, Matt Tedder, and Julia Lebedev of Sight Unseen, with Sherif, Graves, and Tedder also providing the film's financing.[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) Anton is handling international sales, which launched at the Marché du Film de Cannes.[2](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw) Roadshow Films is set to release the film across Australia and New Zealand.[9](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/roadshowfilms_starman-has-landed-in-australia-repost-activity-7493199728264757248-aDxY)
## Title and relation to earlier works
The title is shared with [John Carpenter](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-carpenter)'s 1984 science-fiction romance *[Starman](https://www.edgepedia.org/starman-film)*, starring [Jeff Bridges](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-bridges), which was released on December 14, 1984.[10](https://cinema.wisc.edu/2024/02/22/history-starman/) The new film is an original screenplay by Wakely, not a remake of the 1984 film.[8](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/brendan-fraser-blasting-off-high-171500682.html) A separate 2026 documentary also titled *Starman*, Robert Stone's portrait of NASA engineer Gentry Lee, premiered the same year, adding to the number of recent works using the name.[11](https://www.d-word.com/documentary/3292-STARMAN)
## References
1. [Starman | Production List, Film & Television Industry Alliance](https://www.productionlist.com/production/starman)
2. [Starman touches down in NSW, Screen NSW](https://www.screen.nsw.gov.au/news/starman-touches-down-in-nsw)
3. [Starman - Film 2028, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D1000045389.html)
4. [Aisling Bea Joins Brendan Fraser, Jeff Daniels in Sci-Fi Thriller 'Starman' (Exclusive), IMDb News](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088172/news)
5. [New Sci-Fi Thriller Starring Brendan Fraser and Jeff Daniels Begins Shooting in Sydney, Variety Australia](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/news/starman-sydney-brendan-fraser-jeff-daniels-39231/)
6. [Everything You Need to Know About Starman Movie, MovieInsider](https://www.movieinsider.com/m14256/starman)
7. [Brendan Fraser Ventures to Mars in Sci-Fi Thriller 'Starman', PopcornWire](https://popcornwire.com/news/brendan-fraser-ventures-to-mars-in-sci-fi-thriller-starman)
8. [Brendan Fraser Blasting Off For High-Stakes Mars Mission In Josh Wakely's 'Starman', Yahoo/Deadline](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/brendan-fraser-blasting-off-high-171500682.html)
9. [Starman has landed in Australia, Roadshow Films on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/roadshowfilms_starman-has-landed-in-australia-repost-activity-7493199728264757248-aDxY)
10. [A History of STARMAN, UW-Madison Cinematheque](https://cinema.wisc.edu/2024/02/22/history-starman/)
11. [STARMAN - documentary film by Robert Stone, The D-Word](https://www.d-word.com/documentary/3292-STARMAN)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 2020s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license