George Clooney, co-starring with Sandra Bullock, has compared Alfonso Cuaron’s next film, ‘Gravity’, to ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’. Not much is known about the ‘Children of Men’ director’s upcoming project besides the fact that it focuses on two astronauts, tethered together, floating through space. The premise is unique and ambitious.

JoBlo has posted what the site is claiming to be an official synopsis released by WB, which seems to give away a great deal about the film, so if you don’t want it to be spoiled for you, read no further. However, if you’re curious here is the synopsis:

Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky [George Clooney] in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone–tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness.

The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left.

But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

The synopsis matches up with comments that Clooney made last month. There are still unconfirmed rumors that Cuaron has taken his edgy cinematography a step beyond the impressive tracking shots of ‘Children of Men’ and done the entire film in one take. I’ll believe it when I see it, but the blurb and the synopsis, if authentic, promises a boundary pushing undertaking.

Cuaron is a versatile and talented filmmaker. Aside from ‘Children of Men’ he has written produced or directed ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, ‘Great Expectations’ and the Spanish language ‘Y Tu Mamá También’ and ‘Biutiful’. As for the star, this will be Clooney’s first science fiction/space outing since 2002’s ‘Solaris’. That film was a hit with some critics but tanked horribly at the box office.

Sci-fi redemption for Clooney? Groundbreaking Oscars fodder or ‘Castaway’ in space? Let us know if you’re looking forward to ‘Gravity’ in the comments section.