We're Officially 6 Months Away From Timothee Chalamet's First Sci-Fi After The End Of His Dune Era

Published Oct 16, 2026, 12:36 PM EDT

Simon Gallagher has worked in movie and TV journalism for more than 17 years. He has written more than 6000 articles and reviews, and edited thousands more. He is an expert in the entertainment industry, particularly in the golden age of screen superheroes. Simon is also a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic.
 

When Christopher Nolan cast a very young Timothée Chalamet as Tom Cooper in 2014’s Interstellar, the same year he made his feature debut, not even he could have predicted how important the actor would eventually become to sci-fi fans. He was a small piece of Nolan’s sprawling, at times confusing temporal sci-fi epic, but something obviously imprinted.

Since then, after 12 years of artistic triumphs, we’re on the cusp of the release of Denis Villeneuve’s final Dune movie, the enigmatically titled Dune: Part Three, which will bring Chalamet’s story as literary icon Paul Atreides to a close. Across the monumental trilogy, Chalamet has transformed Atreides from reluctant noble to messianic prophet, shifting the tone of his character massively. He’s been showered with praise along the way, and if Dune: Part Three nails the ending, we could be looking at a flawless masterpiece of a trilogy.

That it will be surprising if that doesn’t happen is just testament to how well Dune has worked out, and it wouldn’t have without Chalamet’s presence. Now, with Arrakis set to be left behind, he has just three projects confirmed: a reunion with James Mangold for a motocross heist film and an adaptation of Richard Powers' 2024 book Playground, in which he’ll play a dying tech billionaire, because we really can’t hear enough about those guys at the minute.

Most intriguingly, the third project, which is his next release in exactly six months, will see him immediately return to sci-fi, rather than terrifying science reality. He’s starring in animated sci-fi movie Not Alone, which will release in theaters on April 16, 2027 and looks like a great diversion from his Dune work.

Chalamet's New Sci-Fi Movie Is Completely Unlike Dune

Image via Illumination

It might be a Chalamet sci-fi, but don’t expect him to step into the same world-weary cosmic boots as Paul Atreides in Not Alone. Dune has been so dark it’s been an ordeal (and the third chapter will escalate that quite dramatically), but sci-fi doesn’t all have to be dark. Not Alone goes in a very different direction than Villeneuve’s magnum opus, with a vibrant, heartwarming animated charm that’s very unArakis.

Universal and Illumination’s next big collaboration is an outer-space adventure for which Chalamet swaps galactic holy wars for romantic comedy and alien slapstick. He plays Joe, a rocket mechanic, who is charged with developing the world’s first planet-fueled rocket, alongside Selena Gomez’s astro-botanist, Fran. Somehow, along the way, Joe’s peaceful solitary life is interrupted by three alien fugitives from Planet Kleb: Dunk, Welly, and Shirm, who are on the run and see the rocket as their means to get home.

It’s obviously a very different role for Chalamet, but his work on Wonka proved he has the chops for family-friendly movies, and there’s lots to suggest Not Alone might be another winner from Illumination.

Why Not Alone Looks So Good

The Illumination/Universal banner is reason enough to be excited, considering the powerhouse successes of the Minions and Super Mario Bros franchises. Hell, even the smaller-scale releases like Migration comfortably make money. Families of ticket buyers are loyal to animation studios, and Illumination tends to deliver. Not to over-emphasis that point too much, but Minions creator Eric Guillon is directing, which means the central trio of aliens should be next year’s most marketable merch opportunity if his track record is anything to go by.

On top of that, the sheer level of talent involved in Not Alone makes it one of the most exciting animated movies on 2027’s slate. Chalamet and Gomez are joined on the voice cast by a host of top-tier British comedy talent, from Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein as the space cop on the aliens’ trail, to Rob Brydon (The Trip), Jamie Demetriou (The Afterparty), and Diane Morgan (Afterlife) as the aliens. American veterans Allison Janney and Lamorne Morris are also involved in so-far undisclosed roles.

The theatrical release of Not Alone also looks pretty favorable. When it lands on April 16, 2027, there’s a two-week run with no direct family competition. Older genre fans will have the long-awaited Spaceballs sequel in their sights, but it’ll take until the release of Universal's Legend of Zelda movie to take away some of the direct family audience. And by then, Not Alone should have some momentum. Let’s hope it delivers something even half as good as Dune…

Not Alone releases in theaters worldwide on April 16, 2027.

Not Alone

Cast

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  Joe (voice)

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  Fran (voice)

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  Rob Brydon

  Dunk (voice)

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  Diane Morgan

  Welly (voice)