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See a Bearded George Clooney in the First Trailer for Upcoming Sci-Fi Drama The Midnight Sky

In his first big-screen role since 2016, George Clooney is on a mission to save five astronauts.

On Tuesday, Netflix released the first official trailer for The Midnight Sky, which is based on the 2016 book Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton.

In the sci-fi drama, a bearded Clooney, 59, plays Augustine Lofthouse, a lonely scientist in the Arctic who embarks on a dangerous journey to try and contact the group of astronauts in space and warn them about returning to an uninhabitable Earth after a mysterious global catastrophe.

Netflix George Clooney in The Midnight Sky

"In our galaxy alone, there are billions of stars. At least one of them has the potential to support life," Lofthouse says in the trailer. "That's why I have to contact them before it's too late."

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The film also stars Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir, Tiffany Boone, and Caoilinn Springall.

RELATED: George and Amal Clooney's Chef Shares the Adorable Thing Their Twins Do When They Like a Meal

Philippe Antonello/NETFLIX Felicity Jones and David Oyelowo

During a London Film Festival screen talk earlier this month, Clooney — who also directs the film — discussed what drew him to work on the movie.

"The guys at Netflix sent it over to me to act in it. I read it and loved it, and thought I’d actually rather take a swing at directing it," he said, according to Deadline. "I’d done a couple of space movies, so I knew how complicated the space stuff was going to be, but this one felt like a really intimate story about what mankind is capable of doing to mankind. I also liked the idea of a story of redemption, and this was kind of the ultimate story of redemption."

He also opened up about the grueling days at work shooting in Iceland with 70 mph winds at 40 degrees below zero, and how his costar, Jones, stepped up to the plate despite being pregnant.

NETFLIX Felicity Jones

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"I was in the middle of Iceland, really miserable, and she goes 'So, there’s news. I’m pregnant.' I’m like 'Great.' And then I go, 'Okay, that complicates things,' " he shared. "She was so gung-ho. She wanted to do all the wirework. But I was like 'No, we’re not putting anyone pregnant on a wire.' "

Clooney revealed that they then decided to write Jones' pregnancy into the narrative of her character in The Midnight Sky, having the astronaut conceive while in space.

Philippe Antonello/NETFLIX George Clooney and cast behind the scenes of The Midnight Sky

"And it changed everything for us," he said. "It gave us something to lean into for the end of the movie, which I think ends up being a big bonus for us, along the way."

Clooney most recently appeared in films Money Monster and Hail, Caesar! in 2016. The actor also directed the film Suburbicon in 2017.

Mark L. Smith adapted Brooks-Dalton’s novel into the upcoming drama, which was produced by Clooney, Grant Heslov, Keith Redmon, Bard Dorros, and Cliff Roberts.

The Midnight Sky premieres Dec. 23 on Netflix.