When does Spaceman take place? Timeline explained

Spaceman follows Adam Sandler’s lone cosmonaut on a mission to uncover the mystery of the universe – but what year does it take place? Here’s what the director thinks.

Retro-futuristic production design is a staple of sci-fi classics, whether it’s 2001’s wall-panel video calls, Silent Running’s cabinet-shaped robot and Zx Spectrum-esque computers, and Escape From New York’s Matrix-coded glider.

Spaceman is a bit of a chronological oddity, unfolding in a world that’s taken dramatic leaps in space travel. When we meet Jakub, he’s six months and 500 million kilometers into his mission to the Chopra Cloud, an interstellar specter on the outskirts of Jupiter. But it’s also curiously lo-fi; for example, the CzechConnect quantum phone looks like a giant, sit-in arcade machine from the ’80s.

However, it most certainly doesn’t take place in the future – or at least, in any faraway year that seems feasible to our eyes. Well, that may have been intentional.

Spaceman timeline explained

Netflix

According to director Johan Renck, Spaceman takes place in an alternate timeline.

In an interview with Dexerto, Renck explained: “For me, I think the beauty of filmmaking is that we can do whatever the hell we want. I tend to be drawn to stuff that has a timeless quality to it… I have no interest in the very, very current aspects of anything.

“It doesn’t take place in our timeline. I think it’s a parallel kind of idea because, like you say, we have this retrospective visual aspect to it. It’s quite analog, isn’t it? You know, there’s nothing that in any way shape or form suggests that it has to do with now.

“But at the same time, we’re dealing with space travel in a way that we cannot do yet. We’re dealing with communications in terms of the quantum mechanic-derived sort of communication system that he has with Earth, which enables him to have instant conversations with people; with current technology, that would take about eight hours after he says something until he gets an answer back.

“To me, it’s the beauty of film: we can do whatever we want. We can create a parallel existence. As long as the human experience is authentic and as long as we can relate to what is truly important, I think there’s a lot of liberty and impressionistic allowance in the premise, settings, and aesthetics of that.”

Spaceman is available to stream on Netflix now. You can also read our four-star review and check out our breakdown of the ending – with a big answer from Renck, too.