Netflix Is Adapting a Bestselling Novel Narrated by an Octopus — and the Cast Is Stacked
A giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus is about to become one of the most talked-about characters on Netflix. The streamer has set a May 8 release date for Remarkably Bright Creatures, a film adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s bestselling novel, and the early details — from the cast to the teaser — suggest this one is built to break through.
The Story and Full Cast
According to Netflix, the official logline reads: “A widow who works at a local aquarium finds joy again when she forms an unlikely bond with a Giant Pacific Octopus and a wayward young man who comes to town in search of family. Together, they will uncover a mystery that will lead them to a life-changing discovery and restore their sense of wonder. Based on the best-selling book.”
The widow — the cleaning lady at the aquarium where Marcellus is housed — will be played by Sally Field. And the octopus himself? Voiced by Alfred Molina, who played Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 back in 2004. Olivia Newman, who previously directed Where the Crawdads Sing, helmed the adaptation for Netflix.
Netflix has confirmed Lewis Pullman, Colm Meaney, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black, Joan Chen and Sally Field will star in the film.
What Inspired the Story
Van Pelt didn’t start with a grand literary concept. She started with octopus videos on the internet.
“It really started for me watching octopus videos on the internet, which is a wonderful way to pass the time if you’ve never gone down that particular rabbit hole,” author Shelby Van Pelt told NPR in May 2022 said of how the book came to be. “Watching them, they’re trying to escape. They get into all sorts of antics because they’re just bored. I just really felt like there was a character in there, the frustration that an animal must feel when it almost must feel kind of superior to the beings that have captured it.”
She went deeper on what drew her to octopus intelligence as a storytelling device.
“Octopuses are incredibly intelligent. We don’t quite know the limits of how intelligent they are or could be because it’s just such a different type of intelligence from what we as humans and mammals are used to,” she continued. “That’s where the curmudgeonliness really started for me. It’s kind of just a funny premise: ‘Gosh, that guy must be so grumpy if he’s trapped in there.’”
That premise — an alien intelligence trapped in a glass box, observing humans and finding them mostly wanting — gives the story a tonal texture that’s rare in adaptations of this kind.
The Teaser Dropped in March
The teaser for the movie was released on March 10. That’s when Netflix revealed Molina as the voice of Marcellus. In the teaser, you hear him deliver the line that doubles as the title’s thesis:
“Humans, for the most part, are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
