Alfonso Cuarón hasn’t directed a feature since 2006′s decade-topping Children of Men, which makes next year’s return, Gravity, all the more exciting. Although its mere existence is enough for almost any of us, Guillermo del Toro had to go and make it sound like a revolutionary piece of cinema. But, despite the fact that we hear pre-release claims like of this sort all the time, Cuarón at the helm makes it sound a tad feasible.

The latest figure to jump on the hype train is the film’s star, George Clooney. Most of what he’s told USA Today comes across as cool and not quite revolutionary, but interesting nonetheless. He sums up the story as two astronauts (the other played by Sandra Bullock) who, upon having their space station destroyed, “go out in space suits, and she and I are tethered together, floating through space.” Simple enough, and him labeling it as “a two-hander with only two actors in the whole film” and “a very odd film” seems to fit nicely with this.

At the same time, the most tantalizing comment he made is that it’s “more like 2001 than an action film.” I don’t think he’s saying that it’ll be as good as 2001, mind you, but there should be a similarity in the way it depicts humanity’s experience in space. No matter what, that’s a very good thing. A release is happening on November 21st, 2012; Clooney says that it’s “not near ready yet,” but the filmmakers “just showed the first cut to the studio.”

I’m expecting big things from the project, including how it will look in IMAX 3D — I’m guessing “mind-blowing” will be a suitable term. The 3D aspect might not be to the star’s liking; Clooney said that this is “the first time I’ve been in 3-D and, hopefully, the last time.” I don’t know about anybody else, but it’s hard for me to not love the man.

Do Clooney’s comments make you any more excited for Gravity?