Netflix’s new adventure fantasy movie, Slumberland, follows Nemo (Marlow Barkley) after she unexpectedly loses her father and is sent to live with her socially awkward uncle. While Nemo struggles to fit in during the day, at night she explores the world of dreams with an unexpected companion, the outlaw Flip (Jason Momoa). Together they travel through dreams and outrun nightmares using a secret map of Slumberland as Nemo desperately searches for a way to reunite with her father in the land of dreams.
Slumberland reunites Momoa with director Francis Lawrence, with whom he worked on See. Lawrence is well known for bringing fantasy worlds to life, although his past work has skewed more toward the post-apocalyptic. Slumberland balances a fantastical dream world with a more grounded story of grief and how loss can completely change a person’s life. This is Momoa’s first foray into comedy, although he has shown off his comedic chops in past roles, notably in Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman.
Screen Rant spoke with Slumberland stars Jason Momoa and Marlow Barkley about their new film. Momoa breaks down how the costume helped him get into the role of Flip. Barkley explains why she wanted Nemo’s heart to shine through in her performance and how her character changes after meeting Flip.
Jason Momoa & Marlow Barkley On Slumberland
Screen Rant: First of all, amazing job on this film. Marlow, you absolutely killed it. You’re going to win an Oscar one of these days, believe you me. Let me ask you: talk to me a little bit about Nemo’s journey and how the character changes when she meets Flip.
Marlow Barkley: Well, I think that Nemo definitely thinks that she’s very independent and can do all these things on her own. I mean, she’s trying to run the lighthouse by herself after she loses her dad because she wants to keep that connection. I think after meeting Flip, it’s just another weight added onto her shoulders that she just wasn’t expecting. I think she didn’t want to go on all these big adventures, but she finds herself realizing that she needs him to accept the loss of her father, and she faces her fears in the end. Yeah, I think it’s just that she realizes that it’s all with the help of Flip.
Absolutely. Now, Jason, look, we don’t get to see you in a lot of comedies, so this is a lot of fun to see in this world.
Jason Momoa: First one.
Right. Talk to me about crafting Flip along with Francis and just about putting on those clothes and embodying that character.
Jason Momoa: Francis has an amazing costume designer he works with, Trish Summerville. We did See together. I mean, all of us became very close. But Trish, I adore her, and she kind of built this whole character with Francis, but just projected me into it. It’s all the things that I love. I mean, everything down to the purples and the velvets and all this. She’s asking for little buttons, which are my favorite bands. You got Rage Against The Machine on there. You got Metallica.
Then the gloves that I wear are my skate gloves that I wore when I was a little kid that I loved. They’re like my favorite gloves. Yeah, just piecing it all together. I put that on, and we had our first test; that’s when we met for the first time, and just the way I started walking, the way I started moving, the way that the teeth are, just make your voice that way, because there’s no way to get around having to lisp. All these things come out of it. It’s wonderful to put all that on. Your hair, your makeup team, and your costume, it made it very easy to slip into Flip.
That’s amazing. Now, Marlow, you’re essentially in two movies. One with Jason as Flip, and the other one with Kyle and Chris. Talk to me about what you wanted to bring to the role of Nemo that wasn’t necessarily on the page because your performance is phenomenal in this film.
Marlow Barkley: Well, I think I wanted to show her heart because I think with Chris, Philip, and then Flip, in the beginning, she’s very tough, and she doesn’t like a lot of change, and she’s kind of cold towards them. I wanted to show that throughout that she still has a heart. Deep down, I think that she does care for them. I just wanted to show that she definitely is very caring and that she’s not as cold-hearted as she may seem in the beginning.
Amazing. Now, Jason, I have one final question. You kind of teased a little bit. This movie’s about dreams; you kind of teased a dream project in the DC Universe. I got to ask: What would that dream project be, or what other character would that include, if I may ask?
Jason Momoa: Well, I’m actually shooting it right now. I’m doing Chief of War, so that’s my dream project. Is that what you’re talking about? I’m doing the Hawaiian project that I’m doing right now. That’s my 15-year dream. That’s been my whole life’s work to do that. I’m living the dream right now.
About Slumberland
After the loss of her father, Nemo’s life is completely upended when she is sent to live with her socially awkward uncle Phillip in the city. While she struggles to cope during the day, at night, Nemo travels to the dreamworld known as Slumberland. With the help of an outlaw named Flip and a secret map, Nemo charts a course through dreams and outruns nightmares in the hopes of being reunited with her father.
Check out Screen Rant’s other Slumberland interviews with Director Francis Lawson and cast Chris O’Dowd, Kyle Chandler, and Weruche Opia. And take a look at Jason Momoa’s past interviews with Screen Rant Netflix’s Sweet Girl and DC’s Aquaman.
Slumberland is currently playing in select theaters and debuts on Netflix on November 18.
