Hollywood superstar George Clooney returns as director with the self-starring sci-fi drama, The Midnight Sky. Opening up on the film, screenwriter Mark L. Smith says it is bizarre how the storyline feels similar to the current pandemic crisis.

The film co-stars Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Tiffany Boone, Demian Bichir and Kyle Chandler, and is based on Lily Brooks-Dalton's novel, Good Morning, Midnight. The story has themes of isolation, loneliness, human connection and a natural disaster, all of which are relevant in a Covid-ridden world.

"Oh, absolutely! Clooney and I, we've talked about it a lot. It's so bizarre. When we started this, the world seemed normal -- I mean, as normal as it could feel, with everything going on politically. Then the pandemic hit, and it felt so similar. We were always dealing with an idea of environmental stuff as well, so that was always a discussion. But yes: it's very strange, and kind of eerie and sad, that in a way the world does feel familiar," Smith told SFX magazine, reports contactmusic.com.

In the upcoming film, Clooney plays a scientist in the Arctic, who tries to protect a young girl even as races against time to stop a group of astronauts from returning to earth, to a mysterious a catastrophe.

The film is slated to release on Netflix on December 23.