Sally Field Befriends a Wise Octopus in “Remarkably Bright Creatures” First Photos (Exclusive)

Benjamin VanHooseWed, February 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC

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Sally Field in "Remarkably Bright Creatures"Credit: Courtesy of Netflix -

Sally Field and Lewis Pullman star in PEOPLE's exclusive first look at Remarkably Bright Creatures

Based on the 2022 novel by Shelby Van Pelt, the film is on Netflix May 8

From director Olivia Newman, the film also stars Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Colm Meaney and Sofia Black-D’Elia

Sally Field befriends an octopus in PEOPLE's exclusive first look at Remarkably Bright Creatures.

Based on the bestselling novel by Shelby Van Pelt, which became a pick for Jenna Bush Hager's book club in 2022, the emotional film debuts on Netflix May 8, from Where the Crawdads Sing director Olivia Newman.

Two-time Oscar-winner Field stars as Tova, a widow who works as an off-hours cleaner at a local aquarium, where she forms an unlikely bond with a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus. Lewis Pullman soon enters the picture as Cameron, a wayward young man who comes to town in search of family, finding unexpected friendship with Tova.

"Together," teases a synopsis, "they uncover a mystery that will lead them to a life-changing discovery and restore their sense of wonder."

The cast also includes Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, and Beth Grant as Tova's friend group, affectionately dubbed the Knitwits, plus Colm Meaney as shop owner Ethan, and Sofia Black-D'Elia as Cameron's paddle-boarding love interest Avery. (The voice of Marcellus, who narrates the film, will soon be revealed to fans by Netflix.)

"Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt, 2022 book coverCredit: Ecco

Field says she has championed the project ever since she was given an early copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures by producer Bryan Unkeless before it was published. "I read four chapters and said, 'Yes, we need to get this,' " she says.

From that point on, it was a challenge to adapt the book for the screen and perfectly capture its unique feeling. (John Whittington co-wrote the screenplay with Newman.)

"The whole book is surprising and life-affirming, and it's an homage to life, to creatures, and the connection that human beings have to creatures," says Field. "We worked on it relentlessly just to get that screenplay. Even when we were shooting we were constantly noodling and fixing and letting it breathe and have its own existence outside of the book. It was a long journey."

Van Pelt says she "got actual chills" when she saw her book translated to the screen. "This movie has so much heart," she says. "Like the book, it’s a story that will make you both laugh and cry. Plus, the film version has even more Marcellus the octopus, and everyone loves Marcellus."

Colm Meaney and Sally Field in "Remarkably Bright Creatures"Credit: Diyah Pera/Netflix

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Though the film takes place in a fictional town in the Pacific Northwest, Remarkably Bright Creatures was filmed in Vancouver's tight-knit and cozy Deep Cove.

Field says the Canadian locations were "magnificent" to work in — and one pivotal scene was "certainly aided by Mother Nature" when it began "pouring down freezing, icy cold rain" on her. "It could not have been more dramatic," she says. "It was soaking wet and freezing, and it was all fitting."

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Sally Field in "Remarkably Bright Creatures"Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Aside from her eight-armed scene partner, Field also shares the screen with Pullman, 33. Though she starred in a 2019 production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons with his father Bill Pullman, Field hadn't met Lewis until their fateful audition.

"I had read with a couple of other young actors, but the minute Lewis walked in, the minute I saw him, I just knew here he is," says Field. "Not only is he just a dazzlingly wonderful actor and funny and talented in every way ... to me, he just was this character."

"We just started improvising instantly and having fun with it and laughing. And we were almost uncontainable," she says. "He's just so easy to be with and work with."

Director Newman can't imagine anyone else as the leading duo, somewhat of a platonic Harold and Maude pairing.

"We auditioned a lot of different actors to play Cameron across from Sally, and she and Lewis in their first read together had incredible chemistry and shared humor, and they just vibed off each other in such a magnificent way that there was no question that he was going to be the perfect Cameron," says Newman.

For Van Pelt, "Watching Sally and Lewis work together was magical. I could not think of a better Tova and Cameron."

Lewis Pullman and Sally Field in "Remarkably Bright Creatures"Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

After so many iconic roles, Field found a new way to relate and connect to this character.

"I think the unique thing about Tova is that she's an old lady and so am I. And I've never been that before, really," the star, 79, says with a laugh. "What's new and different about Tova? She's an old lady. And what's new and different about me? I'm an old lady."

Still, Tova is "so different" from the real-life Field, says Newman, who describes the actress as "one of the funniest people I've ever met."

"She's somebody that you just cannot take your eyes off of onscreen," says Newman. "She's so authentic and always looking for the truth of the moment and the character, and using whatever is at her disposal, in terms of her experience in bringing that to the character. She would say, 'Well, if my knees are bad then Tova's knees are bad. We're not going to hide anything about the aging process.' I really appreciated that."

Newman describes the film as the "warm hug that we all need right now." She adds, "It is a movie that looks at heavy topics like grief and longing for connection and feeling at a crossroads in life and not sure what your purpose is, but it's also a joyful film. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, but ultimately there's a hopefulness to it."

"Get ready for a good cry and a good laugh," says Newman. "You'll come away from it, I think, feeling really good and hopeful."

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