“Moonshot” ambitiously crosses sci-fi and rom-com into one epic story about a young girl who travels to a new frontier and discovers who she really is. Equally full of scientific advances, hilarious bits paired with cute romantic scenes, “Moonshot” teaches some valuable lessons about Earth and our future, love, growth and more.
A pretty diverse cast of actors and actresses brought this story to life, including Lana Condor — known for her role in Netflix’s “To All the Boys” adaptations, — and Cole Sprouse, who has been a star since he was a child.
Here are the cast and their characters in Warner Bros.’ “Moonshot.”
Sophie (Lana Condor)
Sophie is in her final year of college, writing a thesis on a complicated subject, and planning to work with her boyfriend on saving the world by pioneering a method of algae waste reduction. Unfortunately, her parents died when she was 14, so her boyfriend’s mother, Jan, took her in immediately. Sophie is super smart, but she also is wealthy and can afford a $1 million ticket to mars. She meets Walt when he goes to a party hosted at her house, more by Sophie’s friends than Sophie herself.
Lana Condor is known for bringing Lara Jean to life in the beloved Netflix film adaptations of Jenny Han’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” series. Condor has also starred as Saya Kuroki in “Deadly Class,” and she kicked off her acting career starring as Jubilee in “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
Walt (Cole Sprouse)
Walt is a happy-go-lucky kind of guy. He rarely ever plans things through, but he has a head full of big dreams. Ever since he was little, Walt has wanted to go to space — more specifically, to Mars. While he may not exactly have the “IQ” to do so (he’s often called ‘average’ and ‘mediocre,’) he definitely has the heart. Walt meets Sophie and challenges a lot of her core beliefs about relationships. She also challenges his dreams of going to space and adventuring solo.
Sprouse is best known for playing Cody in “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” on the Disney Channel when he was younger alongside his twin brother Dylan. More recently, Sprouse has become known for his role as Jughead Jones in “Riverdale,” and right before the pandemic struck, he starred in the adaptation of “Five Feet Apart” as Will.
Calvin (Mason Gooding)
Calvin has everything Sophie is looking for in a life partner, or so she thinks. The film opens with Calvin “FaceTiming” Sophie through a technique called quantum splicing, but as the film progresses, it is clear that he is more career-focused than Sophie originally thought. Gooding is known for roles like Andrew in Hulu’s “Love, Victor,” Chad Meeks-Martin in the latest “Scream” film and Nick in “Booksmart” (2019).
Ginny (Emily Rudd)
Walt meets Ginny at a party the night before she is supposed to leave for Mars. They have a fun night out on the town and after they share a kiss before morning dawns, she tells him he’s convinced her to go. Walt later tells Sophie that he and Ginny are basically just like her and Calvin, and so he wants to go to Mars to be with her. Emily Rudd is best known for playing Cindy Berman in “Fear Street: 1978.”
Leon Kovi (Zach Braff)
Leon Kovi represents the eccentric billionaire trope. He made the whole Mars thing possible, and made lots of money from doing so. Walt worships Kovi, who blazed the path that he very much wants to take to space. Kovi does make an appearance later on in the film, though at first, we just hear his recorded voice talking people on Earth into going to Mars. Braff stars as Paul Baker in the “Cheaper by the Dozen” remake. He is also known for TV show “Scrubs” and for voicing Chicken Little in “Chicken Little” (2005).
Captain Tartar (Michelle Buteau)
Michelle Buteau plays a funny spaceship captain. She meets Sophie and Walt early on in the trip to Mars, and thinks they are dating. Captain Tartar desperately wants to host a party on the ship for basically any reason, and she gets her wish when a couple gets engaged. Buteau is known for other supporting roles in films like “Marry Me,” where she plays Kat’s publicist Melissa, and “Always Be My Maybe,” in which she plays Veronica.
From left to right: Celeste (Sunita Deshpande) & Tabby (Cameron Esposito)
Celeste is the one who spurs the actual engagement between herself and Tabby. The couple’s good news finally gives Captain Tartar a good reason to throw a party. Sunita Despande has appeared in “Daredevil” as Seema Nadeem.
Queer comedian Cameron Esposito plays half of the couple hoping to get engaged once they arrive on Mars. Tabby is the more outgoing of the pair, and she even runs some seminars and Q/A sessions on the ship. Esposito just published a book called “Save Yourself,” and she also hosts the “Queery” podcast.
Jan (Christine Adams)
Jan is Calvin’s mother, but also becomes Sophie’s stand-in mom after Sophie’s parents tragically died when she was 14. Jan often serves as a confidante for Sophie, and she shares every bit of wisdom she can with her, including the idea that she is allowed to grow and change, and that nothing will come between them if she needs time away from Calvin. Adams played Claire Atkinson in “TRON: Legacy” (2010), Agent Weaver in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and Regina Diaz in “Ordinary Joe.”
Dalton (Lukas Gage)
Dalton is Walt’s friend who brings him to the party where he meets Sophie. Dalton also tries to play down Walt’s hopes and tell him he will make something meaningful later in his life, even if it doesn’t involve going to space. Gage is an actor and writer known for playing Tyler in “Euphoria” (2019), Dillon in “The White Lotus” (2021) and Brandon Galloway in “American Vandal” (2017). Gage also played Derek on Hulu’s “Love, Victor.”
