Earth Day has served, since 1970, as an annual invitation to marvel at the natural world. This year, it gains an unexpected, unofficial ambassador: Marcellus the octopus. He’s the breakout presence in Remarkably Bright Creatures, the upcoming adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s 2022 novel about an unexpected bond between a remarkably perceptive giant Pacific octopus and Tova, a widowed night cleaner at the aquarium in which he lives.
Directed by Olivia Newman (Where the Crawdads Sing) and starring the Oscar-winning Sally Field as Tova, the film leans into a subtle emotional symmetry: octopuses are famously solitary creatures, a trait that mirrors Tova’s own isolation and sets the stage for a connection that is as surprising as it is profound. Lewis Pullman also stars, playing Cameron, a directionless seeker who forms an unlikely bond with Tova when he is hired to replace her at the aquarium.
Marcellus, voiced with wry wit by the beloved British American actor Alfred Molina, also serves as a reminder of something essential, particularly on Earth Day: the wild creatures amongst us might not always have a Tony-winning actor to voice their inner thoughts, but whether we can hear them or not, they are living, breathing beings worthy of the utmost respect, care, and awe.
In this exclusive clip, Tova and Marcellus engage in a little extrasensory conversation that highlights their unique kinship. “Marcellus has a very distinct point of view and sense of humor. It’s really fun to write for someone who thinks so highly of himself and looks down at the human species as so beneath him,” says director and co-writer Newman. “The biggest compliment he pays Tova is that of all humans, she’s the one he can tolerate.”
While Marcellus grumbles about frozen halibut and surveys his jellyfish, squid, and eel neighbors, the film quietly reminds us how delicate these underwater ecosystems are — and how much they depend on clean, thriving oceans to survive.
