Timothée Chalamet and Selena Gomez Star in Illumination's First Trailer for Alien Animated Movie Not Alone

LOS ANGELES — Illumination, the studio behind the Minions and Sing franchises, released the first trailer Tuesday for its upcoming animated feature "Not Alone," revealing a science fiction romantic comedy starring Timothée Chalamet and Selena Gomez as two romantically awkward space-industry workers whose budding relationship is upended by the arrival of three tiny alien fugitives.

The film is scheduled to open exclusively in theaters on April 16, 2027, distributed by Universal Pictures. It marks Chalamet's first leading role in a full-length animated feature and represents Illumination's biggest original concept release since the studio launched its current string of franchise-driven hits including "Despicable Me," "Minions" and "The Secret Life of Pets."

Chalamet voices Joe, a solitary rocket mechanic whose life lights up when he meets Fran, an astro-botanist focused on creating the first plant-fueled rocket, voiced by Gomez. The trailer opens with Joe waking up in a colorful, peaceful neighborhood before heading to a space facility that resembles a next-generation rocket factory, with David Bowie's "Space Oddity" playing on a turntable and soundtracking the clip in what amounts to an unmistakable piece of thematic foreshadowing.

The meet-cute between the two leads unfolds when Joe clumsily drops a component in the office and Fran picks it up. The exchange immediately reveals both characters' defining qualities: Joe blushes, Fran notices and calls him out on it, and their chemistry sparks from there.

"Did I just make you blush?" Gomez's Fran asks Chalamet's Joe in the trailer.

"I didn't take you for a blusher," she adds.

"Because I'm not," Joe replies.

The romantic subplot takes a sharp left turn when three small aliens named Dunk, Welly and Shirm crash-land on Earth while fleeing an interplanetary law enforcement officer. The aliens determine that Fran's plant-fueled rocket could provide their means of getting back home to safety. Their arrival in Joe's home transforms what had been building as a straightforward animated romantic comedy into something considerably more chaotic, as the trio attempt to hide from pursuing authorities while simultaneously disrupting Joe and Fran's developing relationship.

The three alien characters will be voiced by a trio of British comedic actors: Rob Brydon, known for the "Trip" film series and a voice role in "Barbie"; Diane Morgan, best recognized for her deadpan comedy work in "Cunk On" and "Mandy"; and Jamie Demetriou, who appeared in "Cruella" and "Jay Kelly." Brett Goldstein, who won Emmy Awards for his role as Roy Kent in "Ted Lasso," voices Officer Zandro, the "zealous-yet-inept" interplanetary law enforcement officer pursuing the alien trio. Oscar winner Allison Janney, whose credits include several prior Illumination productions, and Lamorne Morris, recently seen in "Fargo" and "Spider-Noir," round out the principal supporting cast.

The film is co-directed by three filmmakers with deep roots in Illumination's creative pipeline. Eric Guillon co-directed "Despicable Me 3" and is credited as the original character designer of both "Despicable Me" and the Minions. Claire Dodgson served as editor on "The Lorax" and "Minions: The Rise of Gru." Jonathan Del Val co-directed both "Minions: The Rise of Gru" and "The Secret Life of Pets 2." The three directors have collectively been involved in some of the studio's most commercially successful productions, though "Not Alone" will be their first project directing together as a trio and the first time any of them has led an original concept Illumination feature rather than a sequel or franchise extension.

The film is produced by Illumination founder and chief executive Chris Meledandri, who has presided over the studio since its founding in 2007 and who shepherded both the Despicable Me universe and the Super Mario film adaptation into billion-dollar theatrical franchises. Executive producers include Joy Poirel, Richard Curtis and David Distenfeld.

For Chalamet, the project represents a significant career detour from the intensely dramatic and physically demanding live-action roles that have defined his recent output. The actor received an Academy Award nomination this past awards season for his portrayal of Marty Mauser in "Marty Supreme," winning at both the Golden Globes and the Critics' Choice Awards. He will also appear in "Dune: Part Three," scheduled for December 2026, making "Not Alone" the first release following that anticipated franchise conclusion. Chalamet teased the project on his Instagram account earlier in June, shortly before it was formally announced at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France.

Illumination heads into "Not Alone" on the back of a strong 2026 at the box office. The studio's "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," released in early April, grossed more than $1 billion, making it the year's biggest film as of this writing and only the second Illumination production after the original "Minions" to cross that threshold in a single theatrical run. The Minions spin-off "Minions & Monsters" opened this week, adding a new entry to the franchise while the studio simultaneously builds anticipation for "Not Alone" with Tuesday's trailer release.

The "Not Alone" teaser arrived alongside broader industry attention to Illumination's creative direction in the post-Mario era. The studio has historically relied on franchise IP as its commercial engine, with Despicable Me, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, Sing and The Super Mario Bros. collectively accounting for the overwhelming majority of its box office history. An original, non-franchise animated feature with a fully adult-leaning cast and a sci-fi romantic premise represents a meaningful creative bet for Meledandri and the studio, one that will be tested when "Not Alone" arrives in theaters next April against whatever competition Universal and the other major studios have positioned against it in that spring 2027 window.