Here’s everything to know about Kristen Stewart in ‘Underwater’

A lot of films from Fox hit a standstill once the Disney-Fox merger officially went through. Some got cancelled, others got pushed into development hell one way or another, and some are still left hanging, waiting for their official fate. But a few lucky ones will still be chugging forward, including the latest vehicle for our girl Kristen Stewart.

Stewart’s latest film Underwater was originally filmed back in 2017 and had been set up for a 2020 release date. Of course a lot has changed since then (like our opinions on cast member T.J. Miller), but the film is still going forward and just dropped its first trailer. 

Starring alongside Stewart in the William Eubank-directed picture will be Vincent Cassell (Black Swan), Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist), and the aforementioned Miller (Silicon Valley). 

Underwater has a very Alien-esque vibe to it, with four researchers stuck in their underwater research base thanks to an earthquake and a mysterious creature hunting after them. Of course it’s very different from Alien; it takes place underwater. Comparisons aside, those looking for a new thriller have something to look forward to this upcoming January.

The production of this film hasn’t been messy, but the story of getting it released has – so let’s dive into the news surrounding Underwater.

The cast includes great (and not so great) names

We already mentioned how our homegirl Kristen Stewart’s in Underwater. As avid fans of Film Daily can guess, we don’t shy away from our love of the actress. That right there is draw number one to the film. Joining Stewart on the undersea adventure are Vincent Cassel, Jessica Henwick, and humanity’s equivalent of a fart, T.J. Miller. 

French actor Vincent Cassel is known in the U.S. as being cinema’s go-to creep. You might recognize him as the ballet studio director that helps drive Natalie Portman mad in Black Swan or the head-basher-inner of the haunting Irréversible. 

If you’re a fan of Netflix’s collection of cancelled Marvel shows, you’ve definitely seen Jessica Henwick as she played Colleen Wing in Iron Fist, The Defenders, and Luke Cage.

In case you need a refresher on why T.J. Miller is not a good guy, he beat up an Uber driver over a political discussion, phoned in a false bomb threat to Amtrak, has been accused of sexual assaults from ever since he was in college, and was accused of inappropriate and childish behaviour while on set for Silicon Valley. On top of that, Miller was in The Emoji Movie. Not the kind of person you want in your film if you can avoid it. 

Experienced sci-fi names behind the scenes

Even if Underwater doesn’t have the most original sci-fi concept, it does take some experience to make it different from other films in which a mysterious monster is attacking people locked in a single place. Writers Adam Cozad (The Legend of Tarzan) and Brian Duffield (Insurgent) are behind the script, so hopefully they’ll make this something different than just Alien underwater. 

Director William Eubank doesn’t have a lot of experience, but his biggest credit is The Signal, a strange sci-fi thriller in which the protagonist is kidnapped by a tech genius and pulled into his chaotic game. 

Eubank not only directed The Signal, but wrote and did the cinematography for the film. It wasn’t the most well received movie ever, but Eubank’s direction was highly praised, showing that he does know what he’s doing behind the scenes.

On the cinematography side of things, Bojan Bazelli will be manning the camera. Bazelli has a variety of credits to his name, including The Lone Ranger and The Ring. Half the thrill in movies like these comes from great shot composition, and considering how iconic of a horror film The Ring is, Underwater is certainly in good hands. 

Alien – but underwater

We may have worn out this joke, but Underwater genuinely has a lot of similarities with Ridley Scott’s masterpiece. A group of researchers on a submarine base are victims of an earthquake, which causes water to start coming into the research base. Of course, it’s not just water these researchers have to worry about: there’s some monster snuck its way into the base, a-comin’ after them researchers. 

Kristen Stewart’s character even has a Ripley-esque look to her, but it doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll be Ripley 2.0. Plus, it doesn’t look like the monster takes control of the researchers like the xenomorph in Alien. As long as nothing comes popping out of anyone’s stomach in Underwater, we’ll say it’s a different movie. 

Underwater gets a January release . . . yikes!

January releases don’t have the best reputation. Unless it’s an Oscar contender that’s getting a wide release, very rarely does anything good come out in January. So Underwater coming out January 10th, 2020 is not good news for the project. Underwater didn’t have any problems within its production, but it’s one of the films that had issues after the Fox-Disney merger.

Just because Underwater has a January release doesn’t automatically mean it’s a horrible film – so don’t freak out quite yet. Disney may have just kicked Underwater to January to give more space for other films they wanted better release dates for. 

Since Underwater suffered from the Disney-Fox merger, it’s unfair to assume that Underwater’s January release has anything to do with the quality of the film. We’ll be waiting until 2020 with curious expectation to see if Underwater sinks or swims.

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