Last year, Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the U.S., celebrated its 20th anniversary with a bang, delivering a lineup of horror, sci-fi, and action gems that mixed big tentpoles like Black Phone 2 and Sisu 2: Road to Revenge with indie darlings like Charlie Polinger‘s The Plague. Collider had the honor of sharing the anniversary with the prestigious event and showcasing 20 images from some of the buzziest titles in attendance across 20 days in celebration. Now, with less than one month left until the 2026 iteration and the film lineup announced, we’re doing it all again. This time, though, Collider’s Exclusive Preview series is expanding to 21 images to commemorate 21 years of Fantastic Fest, and we’re kicking this year’s partnership off with a new look at the bonkers sci-fi comedy Into the Sky, starring Emmy winner Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso).
Into the Sky casts the Detroiters and Veep star as Bobby, a desperate man whose life has been destroyed by the extraterrestrial. He’s first introduced to viewers butt-naked on a North Carolina golf course drenched in strange blue goo and nowhere near his home in upstate New York, but this is nothing new. Over the course of a year, he’s been repeatedly abducted by aliens for some unknown reason, causing his marriage to fall apart because of his constant disappearances. Amid his unique predicament, he forges an unexpected partnership with a woman named Nico who’s currently renting his home and has her own problems to deal with as the planner of her brother’s wedding. While he helps her prepare for the big day, she’ll aid him in reconnecting with his wife, though when another victim who’s been dealing with alien abductions for five years appears, Bobby’s life takes an even more chaotic and high-stakes turn.
Our exclusive image appears to take place at Nico’s brother’s wedding, where Bobby is once again faced with his abductors. Although no aircraft is seen, the darkened skies and look of pure terror and bewilderment on his face indicate the menace has returned to torment him once again. What makes Into the Sky more than just a silly alien abduction flick is that Bobby’s fear is born from the effect the aliens have had on his life. The film is billed as a cosmic mystery that blossoms into a heartfelt romance about a man determined to repair his relationship with the love of his life, while the forces beyond him stand in his way. In this case, another abduction may be about to separate him from his new friend at the worst possible time.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who Is Behind ‘Into the Sky’?
Sam Richardson in INTO-THE-SKY
Drew Mylrea and Evan Wolf Buxbaum joined forces to write and direct Into the Sky in their feature debut as a duo. Both previously served behind the camera on the television series Small Town, Big Story, though Buxbaum’s efforts have primarily been focused on the production side of the industry. Mylrea, meanwhile, is perhaps best known for directing the survival thriller Last Survivors with Alicia Silverstone. For their collaboration, the duo brought together a strong mix of comedic and dramatic talent around Richardson, including David Cross, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Arturo Castro, and more.
Into the Sky makes its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, which runs from September 17 through 24 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas. Check out our exclusive image above and stay tuned here at Collider for more looks at the festival’s entries in the run-up to its opening. Visit the official Fantastic Fest film guide for more information on everything playing during the event.
