Sally Field and Lewis Pullman bond with an intelligent octopus in “Remarkably Bright Creatures” trailer

‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ is available to stream on Netflix starting May 8

Sally Field, Lewis Pullman and an octopus voiced by Alfred Molina find a meaningful friendship in their new movie.

On Wednesday, April 8, Netflix released the full trailer for Remarkably Bright Creatures, a movie adapted from the bestselling 2022 novel by author Shelby Van Pelt. Remarkably Bright Creatures stars Field as “Tova, a widow who forms an unlikely friendship with the curmudgeonly Marcellus — a giant pacific octopus that lives at the aquarium where she works,” according to an official synopsis for the movie. “Unbeknownst to Tova, Marcellus is on a mission to solve a mystery that will heal the widow’s heart and lead her to a life-changing discovery.”

The new trailer — set to the 2022 Noah Kahan hit “Northern Attitude” — shows Tova befriend Pullman’s character, Cameron, a young man searching for his father who left his family as a child. At the same time, Cameron learns that Tova is a widow and lost her son earlier in life, bringing the pair closer together as they both bond with the octopus at the center of the movie, Marcellus (Molina).

Remarkably Bright Creatures‘ cast includes Joan Chen, Kathy Baker and Beth Grant as Tova’s friend group, affectionately dubbed the Knitwits, plus Colm Meaney as shop owner Ethan, and Sofia Black-D’Elia as Cameron’s paddle-boarding love interest Avery.

Field told PEOPLE recently that she wanted to turn author Van Pelt’s book into a movie ever since she received an early copy of the novel from producer Bryan Unkeless. “The whole book is surprising and life-affirming, and it’s an homage to life, to creatures, and the connection that human beings have to creatures,” she said. “We worked on it relentlessly just to get that screenplay. Even when we were shooting we were constantly noodling and fixing and letting it breathe and have its own existence outside of the book. It was a long journey.

Van Pelt, who made her debut as an author with the original novel, told PEOPLE that she “got actual chills” when she saw the book’s story depicted on the screen for the firs time. “This movie has so much heart,” she said in February. “Like the book, it’s a story that will make you both laugh and cry.

Van Pelt added, “Plus, the film version has even more Marcellus the octopus, and everyone loves Marcellus.”

Remarkably Bright Creatures begins streaming on Netflix May 8.