Space Cadet Director Liz W. Garcia Talks Emma Roberts & Grief

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Space Cadet writer and director Liz W. Garcia about the upcoming Prime Video comedy movie. Garcia spoke about using grief in storytelling, star Emma Roberts‘ fun personality, and more. The film will premiere globally on Prime Video on July 4.

“Tiffany ‘Rex’ Simpson (Emma Roberts) has always dreamed of going to space, but life isn’t going quite as planned. Determined to turn things around, she aims high, and with the embellishing touch of her supportive best friend Nadine (Poppy Liu), her ‘doctored’ application lands her in NASA’s ultra-competitive astronaut training program. In over her head, Rex relies on her quick wits, moxie, and determination to get to the top of her class,” says the synopsis. “NASA program directors Pam (Gabrielle Union) and Logan (Tom Hopper) certainly take notice, but can this Florida girl get through training and into the cosmos before she blows her cover? Written and directed by Liz W. Garcia (Purple Hearts), Space Cadet is a comedy about the power of being yourself, following your dreams, and shooting for the stars.”

Tyler Treese: Congrats on Space Cadet. The film’s so fun, and I think that all starts with Emma Roberts’ energy. She brings such a positive vibe to this performance. What about her made you know that she was just the perfect choice for Rex?

Liz W. Garcia: She just has that vibe. She’s just like really fun and easy, and also a very, very funny person. So I knew that’s what I needed, was not just somebody who could seem like this chill Florida girl, but also somebody who’s just, whose natural instincts were only gonna make everything funnier and better. And that’s what she did.

I thought it was interesting that in the last couple of films that you directed, grief is a central theme. Space Cadet also features grief, but this is such a fun tone. How was it using grief and using that as a launching point but going in a very different direction tonally?

Tyler, you’re so astute. I didn’t even realize that connected tissue until a few weeks ago. But I think that I just… I don’t know. That’s a theme that I return to no matter what the genre is. I just wanted to tell a real story about how life can take you off track, right? And it happens in different forms, but a big form for people is when they lose somebody, especially.

She lost her champion. She lost the person who was saying, “You know how to do this. You can achieve this.” And so what a coming of age journey really for her to have to realize, I’m gonna have to be the one who says that to myself. That just felt like it stirred me, and it also felt like something that could inspire other people.

There’s a real turning point for the character, and it coincides with this really great line that you wrote, “We’re all stardust.” Can you just speak to that concept in Space Cadet?

Well, you know, first of all, it’s true that we’re all stardust, right? Like we are all made out of the same matter. My fingernails are made out of the same matter that this laptop is made out of, that the stars are made outta. That’s just a scientific concept. That’s true.

But the fundamental idea behind that for Rex and for the audience is that no one is better than you are. We are all the same. There is no one who is more worthy of a dream than you are, and Rex has to get to the point where she realizes that she’s not an imposter. She deserves to be there. I think that’s a lifetime journey for so many of us is to allow ourselves to think like, maybe I’m good enough.