Margot Robbie's Asteroid City trailer absence leads to alien theories

Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie (Image credit: Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Wes Anderson fans rejoice, the first Asteroid City trailer is here. The eleventh movie from the distinctive director is set to be one of the more anticipated 2023 new movies among cinephiles, thanks in large part to its massive cast of big-name actors and actresses.

Among the Asteroid City cast that we see in the trailer are Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Maya Hawke, Steve Carrell, Matt Dillon, Tony Revolori and Jake Ryan. However, there are also a number of confirmed cast members that are not seen in the trailer, such as Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Rupert Friend, Hong Chau, Jeff Goldblum and, most noticeably for many fans, Margot Robbie.

Robbie's absence from the Asteroid City trailer was definitely noted by many on social media:

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But, it also has led to a theory about just who Robbie may be playing in the movie.

For some background, Asteroid City takes place in a fictional American desert town in 1955. As the town hosts a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention, it is disrupted by world-changing events. As we see in the trailer, that event looks to be the arrival of extraterrestrials, aka aliens.

It's this component that has some on the internet theorizing that Robbie could be playing one of these aliens.

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It seems like a reasonable bet, as you would think they would avoid showing what the aliens look like in the trailer (goodness, imagine what Wes Anderson-created aliens may look like). That could be the case for all of the actors not included in this first trailer.

We do have to say though, even without getting to see all of the big names that make up the ensemble of the movie. We’re personally excited to see Tom Hanks make his first appearance in a Wes Anderson movie, and can't help but be wowed by the color and setting of the movie. It looks like another gem from the director of The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel

Check out the Asteroid City trailer for yourself right here:

To find out if Robbie is an alien or not, you'll have to go see Asteroid City when it releases exclusively in movie theaters on June 16 in the US in limited theaters, then expanding to more US cities and the UK on June 23. 

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.