Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Stowaway
With Stowaway now streaming on Netflix, I recently spoke with director Joe Penna about making the sci-fi thriller. If you haven’t seen the trailer, Stowaway follows the crew (Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, and Toni Collette) of a spaceship headed to Mars and what happens when they discover an accidental stowaway (Shamier Anderson) shortly after takeoff. Facing dwindling resources and a potentially fatal outcome, the crew is forced to make an impossible decision. Stowaway was written by Penna and Ryan Morrison.
Unlike so many stories that take place in space, one of the unique things about Stowaway is there is no villain. Anderson’s character didn’t intend to be there. He’s not trying to take over the ship. Neither are any of the other characters. Instead, Stowaway is about a good people trying to deal with a very bad situation.
During the interview, Penna talked about how the film doesn’t have a villain and it’s really about four people dealing with a bad situation, if the film changed in the editing room, if they make it to Mars and how he decided where to end the film, and more. In addition, he talked about his desire to make a film that takes place underwater.
Check out what he had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.
Joe Penna:
If he could get the financing to make any project what would he make and why?
How Stowaway doesn’t have a villain.
How did the film possibly change in the editing room and did he have a longer cut?
Did they make it to Mars and how did he decide where to end the film?
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