Timothée Chalamet and Selena Gomez will voice star in the Not Alone movie, giving Illumination’s original alien feature a release date of April 16, 2027. Chalamet first teased the announcement in an Instagram Story on Sunday night, turning a social post into a film launch with a clear theatrical target.
Joe, Fran and April 16
Chalamet will voice Joe, an introverted rocket mechanic, while Gomez plays Fran, an astro-botanist developing the first-ever plant fueled rocket. Universal’s synopsis says, “When Joe and Fran are brought together to prepare for the inaugural launch of this revolutionary rocket, there are immediate sparks, but neither is particularly adept at romance.”
The same setup gives the movie a built-in commercial hook: a new animated feature with two names that travel well beyond the usual family-film audience. For Illumination, a date this far out also gives the studio room to pace marketing and keep the project visible without crowding it into a crowded opening stretch.
Three Aliens in Joe’s Home
The story gets stranger from there. Universal says, “Life becomes more complicated when three aliens—tiny, unruly and adorable—take refuge in Joe’s home.” Those aliens are Dunk, Welly and Shirm, voiced by Rob Brydon, Diane Morgan and Jamie Demetriou, while Brett Goldstein voices Zandro, the officer of the law chasing them.
Universal also says, “The aliens determine that Fran’s rocket could provide their means of getting back home to safety.” That puts the movie on two tracks at once: a romance between Joe and Fran, and an escape story built around the aliens’ path home. The project is Chalamet’s first feature-length animated film, which makes the casting a notable step rather than a routine voice job.
Illumination’s next original feature
Eric Guillon is directing the film, with Claire Dodgson and Jonathan Del Val directing alongside him. Chris Meledandri is producing, and Joy Poirel, Richard Curtis and David Distenfeld are executive producing, with Allison Janney and Lamorne Morris also included in the supporting voice cast.
Chalamet and Gomez now give Not Alone a clear identity before a frame of finished animation reaches theaters. That matters because the movie is being sold as an original feature, not an extension of Despicable Me or Minions, and original animated titles usually need a sharper cast-and-concept pitch to break through. The real question now is how much of Joe, Fran and the three aliens Illumination will reveal before April 16, 2027.
