There are few modern sci-fi TV shows as fiercely loved as The Expanse. From its grounded physics to its morally messy heroes, it delivered hard science fiction with blockbuster ambition. When it ended in 2022, fans were left with a vacuum nothing since has truly filled. However, one upcoming sci-fi thriller might finally change that: Celestia.

Directed by Joel Souza, best known for helming Alec Baldwin’s Western Rust, Celestia is an original sci-fi thriller built around a mysterious crash and an interstellar enigma. Early details promise a tense, character-driven story wrapped in cosmic intrigue. It’s not a sprawling space opera, at least not on the surface, but its premise hints at something much bigger.

Even better, Celestia brings back one of The Expanse’s most iconic faces. Thomas Jane is officially set to lead the film, instantly putting it on the radar of every Beltalowda loyalist still missing Ceres Station’s favorite world-weary detective. If any new sci-fi project can channel the magic of The Expanse, Celestia has a serious head start.

The Expanse’s Thomas Jane Has Been Cast In Celestia

Thomas Jane’s Casting Instantly Makes Celestia Essential Viewing For Expanse Fans

Thomas Jane is officially front and center of the Celestia cast, and that alone is enough to get The Expanse fans excited. Jane will star as a crash survivor who finds himself at the center of a strange and potentially universe-altering mystery. While details are being kept under wraps, the official synopsis (via Deadline) reveals he plays a father forced to confront both isolation and a widening cosmic threat:

“After crash-landing on a remote planet, Graham (Jane), a devoted but troubled father, must claw his way back from disaster while keeping his daughter safe inside their deteriorating spacecraft. But as he searches the alien landscape for answers and a path to escape, he begins to uncover signs that they may have been expected, pulling him into a mystery far more dangerous than the crash itself.”

That setup feels tailor-made for Thomas Jane’s strengths. In The Expanse, he portrayed Joe Miller, a washed-up Ceres Station detective whose cynical worldview slowly gave way to obsession and reluctant heroism. Miller’s journey from missing persons investigator to protomolecule martyr was one of the show’s boldest arcs.

Jane has always excelled at playing haunted men on the edge like Joe, and Celestia appears to lean into that energy, centering its narrative on a lone figure grappling with something far beyond his understanding. The crash element adds immediate stakes, grounding the story before it expands outward into deeper sci-fi territory.

It’s also significant that Thomas Jane isn’t just part of an ensemble this time. In The Expanse, he shared the spotlight with the likes of Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, and Shohreh Aghdashloo. In Celestia, he’s the anchor. The fact his character, Graham, is one of two lone survivors of a crashed ship suggests a more focused character study wrapped in big-idea science fiction.

For fans still rewatching “Leviathan Wakes” and mourning The Expanse’s conclusion, Thomas Jane’s casting in Celestia is welcome news. Sure, it’s not a continuation of Miller’s story, but it’s hard not to see Celestia as a spiritual successor.

How Celestia Will Be Different From The Expanse

Celestia Looks Smaller In Scope But No Less Ambitious

While Celestia shares narrative and casting DNA with The Expanse, it’s clearly carving its own path. Where The Expanse sprawled across the Belt, Mars, and Earth in a politically charged epic, Celestia appears more contained. The initial premise revolves around a crash and its aftermath, suggesting a survival thriller before the larger mystery unfolds.

That smaller scope could actually be its greatest strength. The Expanse thrived on dense world-building and multi-layered conspiracies, but it also demanded serious attention. Celestia seems poised to start intimate, focusing on one man’s experience trying to keep himself and his daughter alive before pulling back the curtain on a bigger intergalactic puzzle.

There’s also an obvious tonal shift. The Expanse balanced noir detective elements, military conflict, and high-concept alien science. From the synopsis, it seems that Celestia leans harder into sci-fi thriller territory. The emphasis on a mysterious crash hints at paranoia and isolation rather than interplanetary diplomacy.

Still, that doesn’t mean it lacks ambition. The synopsis also teases connections to something much larger than a single accident. If handled well, it could mirror how The Expanse introduced the protomolecule as a strange anomaly before revealing its civilization-altering implications.

What’s more, director Joel Souza has revealed there are already thematic parallels with The Expanse, especially the parts of it that relate to Thomas Jane’s Detective Miller:

“This film blends mystery with raw emotional stakes in a way that feels fresh and resonant. Celestia isn’t just about what’s out there in the stars, it’s about what’s inside us.

Ultimately, it’s clear that Celestia won’t feel like another Rocinante crew adventure or a return to Miller’s hardboiled sci-fi detective investigations. It will be something tighter, more psychological, but, potentially, just as mind-bending.

Thomas Jane Was One Of The Reasons The Expanse Worked

Joe Miller’s Arc Proved Why Thomas Jane Is Sci-Fi Gold

It’s impossible to talk about The Expanse’s early success without spotlighting Thomas Jane’s performance as Joe Miller. Introduced as a hard-drinking Belter detective chasing a missing girl, Miller initially felt like a classic noir archetype dropped into space. However, Jane’s performance made him far more than that.

Miller’s obsession with Julie Mao (Florence Faivre) could have felt thin or melodramatic. Instead, Jane infused it with vulnerability and quiet desperation. His unraveling mirrored The Expanse’s escalating stakes, tying personal grief to cosmic horror in a way that grounded the protomolecule storyline.

Crucially, Miller functioned as the audience’s entry point. Through his eyes, viewers saw the inequalities of Ceres and the tension between Earth and the Belt. His choices ultimately connected him to James Holden and the Rocinante crew, weaving the detective plot into The Expanse’s larger political narrative.

Even after his apparent death, Miller’s presence lingered. When he reappeared in Holden’s visions, Jane shifted from weary cop to unsettling guide, maintaining emotional continuity while pushing the mythology forward. Few actors could balance those tonal swings so seamlessly.

That’s why Thomas Jane’s involvement in Celestia matters. The Expanse star understands how to sell high-concept science fiction without losing the human core. If Celestia captures even a fraction of what made Miller unforgettable, it won’t just be another sci-fi release. It could be the replacement story The Expanse fans have been waiting for.

Release Date

2015 – 2022-00-00

Network

SyFy, Prime Video

Showrunner

Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby

Directors

Breck Eisner, Jeff Woolnough, David Grossman, Kenneth Fink, Rob Lieberman, Terry McDonough, Thor Freudenthal, Bill Johnson, David Petrarca, Jennifer Phang, Mikael Salomon, Sarah Harding, Marisol Adler, Anya Adams, Nick Gomez, Simon Cellan Jones

Writers

Georgia Lee, Robin Veith, Hallie Lambert, Matthew Rasmussen, Ty Franck, Naren Shankar, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Daniel Abraham, Dan Nowak

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  Dominique Tipper

  Naomi Nagata