JOSH WATCHES CAPRICORN ONE-2026

In this installment of Josh Watches, we're diving into the 1978 sci-fi conspiracy thriller Capricorn One—a film that asks: what if the greatest space mission in history was a lie?

When NASA discovers a fatal flaw in the life-support system of Capricorn One—the first manned mission to Mars—the agency faces a crisis. Rather than abort and lose funding and public support, NASA director Dr. James Kelloway (Hal Holbrook) forces astronauts Brubaker (James Brolin), Willis (Sam Waterston), and Walker (O.J. Simpson) to participate in an elaborate hoax. They're whisked to an abandoned desert base where a soundstage has been built to simulate the Martian surface. With their families held as leverage, the astronauts must play along and broadcast a fake landing to the world.

But when the empty capsule burns up on re-entry, the astronauts realize they've become liabilities—and the government is willing to kill to keep the secret. Meanwhile, a tenacious reporter (Elliott Gould) begins to uncover the truth, setting off a deadly race against time.

Part space-race paranoia, part journalism thriller, Capricorn One is a tense, paranoid snapshot of post-Watergate America—and it's packed with a stellar cast, including Brenda Vaccaro, Telly Savalas, and Karen Black. Grab your tinfoil hat