THE BUBBLE

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people all around the world are struggling with a lack of quality entertainment. One studio has decided to go ahead and move into production with the sixth installment of the blockbuster “Cliff Beasts” franchise, undergoing safety measures necessary to ensure the production runs smoothly.

The film’s executive producer, Gavin (Peter Serafinowicz), and his assistant Pippa (Danielle Vitalis) meet with two new employees, Gunther (Harry Trevaldwyn) and Bola (Samson Kayo), to discuss their jobs and to not engage the actors on set, as they are all assholes.

The franchise’s lead star, Carol Cobb (Karen Gillan), makes her return to the series after being absent for the fifth film, and the rest of the cast is upset with her for bailing. Her last effort as a serious actress, “Jerusalem Rising”, was widely panned for being offensive to both Palestinians and Israelis. She meets with her agent Marti (Rob Delaney), who prepares her for her return. Carol is also nervous about leaving behind her neurotic boyfriend Josh (Chris Witaske) home alone with his two kids.

Carol travels to London for the shoot and is put into quarantine in a hotel, where she spends her time eating junk food and watching movies. After her quarantine is over, she goes to a party to meet the rest of the cast and crew. Castmate Howie Frangopolous (Guz Khan) is happy to see Carol and even begins to chat with Gunther. Series regular Lauren Van Chance (Leslie Mann) is initially mad at Carol for not being in the last movie, but they quickly reconcile. Lauren has been in an on/off relationship with co-star Dustin Mulray (David Duchovny), as they share custody of an adopted son who hates both of them. Added to the cast is veteran actor Dieter Bravo (Pedro Pascal), who has a secret addiction to sex and drugs, and attempts to hit on hotel employee Anika (Maria Bakalova). The studio has also hired TikTok celebrity Krystal Kris (Iris Apatow) to gain a younger audience. Production assistant Carla (Galen Hopper) tries to form an alliance with Krystal while the series’ other main actor, Sean Knox (Keegan Michael-Key), views Krystal as competition. The film is being directed by indie director Darren Eigan (Fred Armisen), and Gavin is hounded by studio head Paula (Kate McKinnon) to make sure the shoot goes well.

The crew begins rehearsals in action sequences, and Krystal does a TikTok dance with the crew and hotel employees. They start to shoot a scene from the film featuring a pterodactyl. Dustin has issues with the script, which he expresses to Darren. At the end of the night, Gavin comes to tell everyone that they all need to go back into quarantine because they had a positive COVID test within the crew, greatly upsetting everyone.

With production being halted, some of the crew goes crazy back in their rooms. Krystal and Carla seem to form a genuine friendship, while Lauren and Dustin have sex on set when nobody is around. Carol also appears to form a mutual attraction to an athlete named Zaki (Raphael Acloque) that has joined the cast, though she attempts to remain loyal to Josh. Bola attempts to have the cast and crew do meditation, but Howie has reached his peak and storms off the set, telling everyone he quits. Despite the cast’s protests, Howie leaves, and his character is killed offscreen in the movie.

Two months into production, the cast are tagged with trackers so the studio knows where they are at all times. After shooting another scene, Carol learns that Josh has started a relationship with a waitress, despite him and the kids all staying at Carol’s house. As a result, she starts to hook up with Zaki. Meanwhile, Dieter goes on an acid trip and becomes aroused by the AI in his workout equipment named Kate (Daisy Ridley). He appears to enter the machine to have sex with her.

Carol starts to feel ill and thinks she has COVID. After a series of tests, Gavin confirms the cast all tested negative for COVID, but some of them did test positive for the flu. They all shoot another scene, where Lauren gets dizzy and then vomits, followed by Carol and Dustin vomiting afterwards. Gavin talks to Paula again, who warns him that they are behind schedule.

Carol gathers the cast and attempts to get them to quit the production due to the disastrous conditions. However, nobody sides with her and plans to continue shooting. The higher-ups catch wind of this and reduce Carol’s lines and cut her dramatic scene with a baby dinosaur, giving it to Krystal (and making it another TikTok dance) and leaving Carol’s big scene to be her wetting her pants after being scared by a dinosaur.

Lauren and Dustin get into a big argument over their adopted son, leading to Lauren setting Dustin’s laptop on fire. She begins to run outside the hotel, but Gavin has hired armed guards, and one of them sees Lauren running and flailing around and fires, shooting several fingers off her left hand. After the others find out, Gavin tries to save face by saying the guards thought Lauren was a crazed fan that broke onto the grounds of the hotel. He talks to Paula and studio chairman Tom (John Lithgow) over how to keep things running. The crew later has a meeting with stunt coordinator Steve (John Cena) to do more combat scenes.

Carol grows more frustrated that her role continues to get reduced. Sean gets injured during a stunt gone wrong. Lauren is replaced by another actor wearing a green suit to CGI her face onto him. Paula tries to lift everyone’s spirits by having musician Beck appear to make music for the movie. The cast and crew are later brought on for an interview, where Darren says the studio has already greenlit “Cliff Beasts 7”, which causes Carol to snap and say she does not agree to any of that.

Carol tries to get Krystal to help post a viral video telling people on the outside of the terrible conditions the cast and crew have to go through in an attempt to raise awareness and get them out of there. Unfortunately, Carla changes Krystal’s mind because she says they will come off like whiny spoiled actors, so Krystal deletes the video. Krystal ends up in trouble herself, as a video of her partying and exposing herself to COVID goes viral, causing her to lose millions of followers.

The cast gathers later and go on a drug binge, with everyone hallucinating that Gunther has become Benedict Cumberbatch, and they all do another TikTok video for Krystal’s page. Dieter then starts to suffer from an overdose, but he is revived by Anika with an adrenaline shot to the heart. This moment gets Carol to inspire everyone and say that they can take care of each other and help one another escape the set.

After shooting another ridiculous scene, Carol, Sean, and Krystal start trying to make their escape. Carol is chased by James McAvoy, while Sean is pursued by security, and Carla tries to stop Krystal by telling her that she was paid to be her friend and ensure that she finishes the movie. After escaping their pursuers, the three are joined by Dieter and Dustin. Darren attempts to stop them and gets into a wimpy fight with Dustin. They get into a chopper with Anika and manage to escape, while Gavin and Darren are left worrying for the future of their careers. Darren figures they can just put a cut together from whatever they shot.

Sometime later, the cast attends a premiere for a documentary of the film’s disastrous production, called “Beasts of the Bubble”. Lauren has also gotten a new robot hand while Dieter is in a relationship with Anika and has gotten the real Kate (from the workout machine) to be their third partner.

In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, a movie studio attempts to shoot the sixth installment of the blockbuster "Cliff Beasts" franchise. The cast endures troublesome conditions while the director, executive producer, and studio heads all try to keep production running smoothly, or without anyone finding out what is really going on.

Several mishaps include a flu outbreak, one of the actors getting their fingers blown off, and lead actress Carol having her role reduced due to her complaints. After going through enough trouble, the cast manages to escape the set on a chopper. The film's production is turned into a successful documentary.