Ryan Reynolds time travels with his younger self in first trailer for Netflix's 'The Adam Project'

Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy — the duo behind last summer's Free Guy — are back in top genre form with the first awe-inspiring trailer for The Adam Project. Coming to Netflix next month, the highly-anticipated film stars Reynolds as a quantum fighter pilot who teams up with his younger self (Walker Scobell) for a rip-roaring adventure through time.

"To say I had the time of my life making this film would be an understatement," tweeted Reynolds, who debuted the trailer on social media. He then joked: "And a misleading reference to Dirty Dancing." The footage itself rocks some pretty old school vibes, especially when the two Adams meet, bringing to mind the famous introduction between Elliot and E.T in Steven Spielberg's '80s-era classic.

The Adam Project also stars Jennifer Garner (Elektra) as Adam's single mother; Mark Ruffalo (Avengers: Endgame) as Adam's late father, a scientist whose work paves the way for the invention of time travel; and Zoe Saldana (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Laura, Adam's love interest who mysteriously disappeared somewhere in the time-stream.

Check out the trailer below:

“I have this thought about life, which is that we tell ourselves stories,” Reynolds explained to Vanity Fair last month. “So you have this central character who has told himself a story about his own father that isn’t necessarily true. I know that I’ve done that in my life. I’ve told myself stories to justify things about my father and my complicated relationship I had with him before he passed. Reconciling that is really difficult.”

“There’s the notion of confronting your younger self, who might just see things more authentically than you have come to narrate for yourself,” added Levy. “The kid has real power because the kid’s the only one who can call B.S. on this grown man who has wrapped himself up in his ideas about his own history. The kid’s the one who’s living that history in real time and can say, ‘No, no, you got it wrong. I know because I’m in it.’”

While Reynolds and Levy first boarded the project (no pun intended) in spring of 2020, the film had already been in development for over a decade (Tom Cruise was reportedly attached at one point). Netflix scooped up the rights several months later with production kicking off in Canada that November amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Principal photography wrapped last March.

Netflix screened the movie for early audiences Wednesday evening. Mike Reyes of CinemaBlend, for instance, described it as "a blast." He continued: "Pure blockbuster thrills, some beautiful family drama & A TON of fast paced snark. The Levy/Reynolds train continues to chug along, and Walker Scobell is one to keep your eye on."

"There’s an element to #TheAdamProject I didn’t expect, and it hurt the most," added Sean O'Connell (also of CinemaBlend). "My dad died when I was 23. I’d give anything to have a conversation with him now, when I had more life under my belt, and could understand us better."

Echoing what we wrote above, Joe Magidson (Awards Radar) called it "a tremendously fun throwback to 80’s sci-fi adventures, with a sneaky emotional element. I did not expect to cry. Ryan Reynolds and Mark Ruffalo are great in a Shaw Levy film that would make Spielberg proud."

The Adam Project lands on Netflix Friday, March 11.