'Life' Movie Brings Terrifying Space Thrills (Photo Gallery)

Terror at the ISS

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

In the science-fiction thriller "Life," an alien from Mars wreaks havoc on the International Space Station (ISS). The movie will hit theaters on March 24, 2017. [Watch the trailer.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the space station's medical doctor and most experienced astronaut, David Jordan, who has spent more than 473 days at the International Space Station.

Reynolds in the Cupola

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

Ryan Reynolds, starring as mission specialist Rory Adams, floats in the Cupola window at the International Space Station.

The Human Firewall

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

Rebecca Ferguson stars as Miranda North, a microbiologist from the Centers for Disease Control who is tasked with keeping the ISS crew safe from possible contamination by the sample return mission from Mars.

Kibo Module

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

Ariyon Bakare stars as Hugh Derry, a British scientist tasked with finding evidence for life on Mars.

Mars Sample Arrives

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

A sample return mission delivers the first proof of life on Mars.

Safety First!

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

The glove box at the ISS serves as a firewall against any possible contamination from the Mars sample.

Calvin is Born

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

Derry discovers a single-cell organism in the sample from Mars. When the sample grows larger and starts to look more alive, high school students back on Earth compete to give it a name. And so the cute little Martian was dubbed Calvin.

A Cute Little Alien

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

Calvin seems harmless at first, wiggling in a petri dish and responding to Derry's touch. (Spoiler alert: The cuteness doesn't last long!)

Calvin Gets Bigger

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

Calvin quickly evolves into a more complex creature. "Every cell is an eye cell, a muscle cell, a nerve cell, and as such, the creature is very, very adaptable." screenwriter Rhett Reese said in a statement.

Astronauts Freak Out

Sony Pictures/CTMG Inc.

As Calvin gets bigger and bigger, the astronauts begin to regret ever bringing that darn Mars sample to the space station.

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Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos.