Sci-fi movie In the Blink of an Eye, protecting the species with Rashida Jones and Daveed Diggs

In the Blink of an Eye, the plot of the movie

In the Blink of an Eye is the sci-fi and drama movie coming soon. The plot connects three different timelines: about 45,000 years ago, a Neanderthal family composed of Thorn (Jorge Vargas) and Hera (Tanaya Beatty) are forced to abandon their home.

In the present, Claire Robinson (Rashida Jones), a PhD student in anthropology who studies the fossilized remains of Thorn, finds herself divided between her work and a budding relationship with Greg (Daveed Diggs), while facing her mother’s illness.

In the future, in the 25th century, we find Coakley (Kate McKinnon), a pilot engaged in a space mission to populate a new planet with human life. Her only companion is an AI assistant named Rosco.

“Life seems so improbable, and then looking back it all makes sense,” says a voice-over in the released trailer, while a woman - on a table in a laboratory - analyzes some skeletal remains. “My research is a very important thing - says Claire (Rashida Jones) - we could discover where we come from. We could live longer.”

“We’ll reach the new planet in twenty-six years. Our old home was dying, and now we’re building a new home,” explains Coakley (Kate McKinnon) to a child, while they’re on a spaceship floating in space. “Everyone who was there before you, they don’t really go away,” says the voice-over.

In the Blink of an Eye, the cast of the movie

Kate McKinnonhas worked in Barbie and the comedy Masterminds; Rashida Jones has interpretedThe Social Networkand the seriesGood Sex; Daveed Diggs has acted inWonder. Tanaya Beatty is also present, already seen inCrimes of the FutureandGod’s Country.

The direction is by Andrew Stanton, who has already directedJohn Carter(2012), and episodes ofStranger Things, Better Call Saul, For All Mankindand3 Body Problem: he then curated the direction ofFinding Doryand the newToy Story 5.

In the Blink of an Eye, the plot of the movie, the critics’ reviews

The movie was presented at the Sundance Movie Festival 2026, where it received negative reviews. For The Hollywood Reporter “overall, there’s so little consistency in these narrative arcs that the actors work mostly just in service of a blandly uplifting message. It’s as if they were all commissioned by a well-funded science museum to lend body and voice to the cause of digestible and approachable infotainment.”

For IndieWire “the only meaningful connection that is created throughout the movie is between the actors, whose inability to save their material helps intertwine them more than any machination of the screenplay.”

More positive is TheWrap, according to which “the generosity of the movie is what makes it so essential and, potentially (…) so cloying. But given the world situation, with each new day grimmer than the previous one, such an unabashedly sweet movie is something that should be cherished, protected and celebrated, not disapproved.”

The movie releases on streaming on Hulu on February 27, 2026.