Hailey van Braam
Well, this isn’t an easy watch for claustrophobics, is it? Netflix’s newest French Original, Oxygen, is set to premiere in May and will see Mélanie Laurent fight and struggle for her life inside a cryogenic chamber. Speaking of, have you ever seen the inside of the chamber? Me neither, but we’ll see a lot of that in May if you know what I mean. Here’s everything you need to know about the series, from the plot, cast, trailer, and the coveted streaming giant release date.
What is Oxygen all about?
Oxygen is an upcoming American-French survival-thriller Netflix Original (you don’t get to hear that combination of words every day). Directed by Alexandra Aja and written by Christie LeBlanc, the feature has set its eyes on pursuing the top 10 list of films in 2021. The film is produced by Gateway Films and Wild Bunch.
The plot will revolve around a woman suffering from severe memory loss and wakes up inside a cryogenic chamber. The problem isn’t how to get out, but the rapid loss of oxygen inside the chamber. To survive and get out of the chamber, she must remember who she is. I don’t know about you, but knowing that a film only takes place in one cryogenic chamber seems like one of the coolest ideas in 2021.
When released, Oxygen is slated to only be the second French Original to be released on Netflix in 2021. Maybe this will give way to future French content, right?
pov: you're Mélanie Laurent, you wake up in a cryogenic pod, have no idea who you are, and the oxygen is running out.
A new survival thriller from director Alexandre Aja. Coming to Netflix May 12. pic.twitter.com/yP9t0WyFZ0
— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) March 10, 2021
When is the release date of Oxygen on Netflix?
Ah, once again, we thank the trailer for informing us about the release date of yet another Netflix feature. Oxygen has now been confirmed to premiere on the streaming giant on Wednesday, 12th of May, 2021.
As far as regions go, the feature film will be available to stream globally.
Who are attached to the cast of Oxygen?
The following are confirmed to star in Netflix’s feature film:
- Melanie Laurent’s role is TBA
- Mathieu Amalric’s role is TBA
- Marc Saez as Inspector Ortiz
- Malik Zidi’s role is TBA
- Eric Herson-Macarel as Capitaine Moreau
- Cathy Cerda as Alice
All the TBAs on the list are as expected. Since the project was announced, the lead role of the film was changed a couple of times. Way back in July of 2017, even Anne Hathaway was attached to portray in the project but was eventually replaced by Noomi Rapace in February 2020. However, a few months went by and Rapace left the project and was soon replaced by Mélanie Laurent. It definitely caused a lot of confusion––especially for a role as big as something Hathaway was attached to. Considering this, it’s even lucky for Oxygen to be released.
When and where did the production of Oxygen take place?
In July 2020, principal photography began––marking that the remaining cast members have already been confirmed and are ready to play their parts. Like we’ve said, it was a confusing turn of events cast-wise.
Alexandre Aja, director of Oxygen, had this to say about the project:
“After a period spent in lockdown, a project which in its core explores confinement and claustrophobia was a no-brainer, almost a necessity. I am very enthusiastic to collaborate with Wild Bunch and Melanie Laurent and to begin a beautiful creative adventure with Netflix.“
With the pandemic at large, it would’ve been reasonable for Oxygen to have paused in the middle of their production––causing it to be released a couple of years since it was materialized. True enough, this would be the case. Thanks, in large part, to their efforts in not giving up and giving the audience something to look forward to, they managed to bring it home––bring it to Netflix.
