Here's Why The Obamas' Names Show Up In 'Leave The World Behind'

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Netflix's newest psychological thriller, Leave the World Behind, hit the platform on December 8, and has already been getting all sorts of buzz as it has risen to the No. 1 spot on the platform's leaderboards.

The film, which is based on the 2020 novel by Rumaan Alam, follows Amanda and Clay Sanford (Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke), and their two children, who decide to head down to Long Island for a family vacation at the beach. However, things start to unravel after the home's owner, George (Mahershala Ali), comes and tells the family that there's been a cyberattack that caused a blackout in Manhattan. The families decide to stick together through the apocalyptic scenario, and... let's just say things get pretty weird, pretty fast.

And while the movie's ending has people asking a lot of questions, other elements have generated equal amounts of curiosity from viewers. Specifically, everyone wants to know why former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama's names show up in the opening credits.

Yep, these household names did have a role in the creation of this film. Apparently, the Obamas were huge fans of Rumaan Alam's 2020 novel by the same name, which the movie is based on. They evidently loved it so much that they signed on to help produce the project.

Curious to know more about the Obamas' involvement? Women's Health has got all the details.

What role did the Obamas play in the film?

Barack and Michelle helped produced the movie with their production company, Higher Ground Production, in partnership with Netflix. The couple founded the company in 2018 to help "tell powerful stories that entertain, inform, and inspire—while elevating new and diverse voices in the entertainment industry," per its website.

Higher Ground has a deal with Netflix and has already produced more than a dozen films on the streamer, including American Factory and Rustin, per Decider.

These two didn't just sit back and watch it all unfold, though. Barack actually provided a lot of notes on the script and gave his take on how a real-world disaster of this proportion would actually pan out, the director Sam Esmail shared with Vanity Fair.

“I am writing what I think is fiction, for the most part, I’m trying to keep it as true to life as possible, but I’m exaggerating and dramatizing,” Esmail said. “And to hear an ex-president say you’re off by a few details…I thought I was off by a lot! The fact that he said that scared the f**k out of me.”

In an interview with the Associated Press, Esmail added that the former president is a huge movie lover. “He was committed to making this a great movie. He was involved from script to post,” he said.

Who else helped produce the movie?

While the Obamas definitely caught people’s attention on the list of producers, there were many other people who were also involved in the production.

Sam Esmail was the writer-director and producer, along with Julia Roberts, Rumaan Alam (the author), and several others.

What have the Obamas said about the film?

While the Obamas haven’t shared much about their work on the new hit thriller, they did release a statement through their production company, Higher Ground.

“What we love about Rumaan Alam’s book, and Sam Esmail’s adaptation, is that it leaves nothing behind," said Tonia Davis, who is head of film and TV at Higher Ground, per Decider. "This is a rare story that deals with race, class, what it means to raise kids in today’s world, and how external events start to seep into our consciousness and create fears where maybe there shouldn’t be any. This is a story that doesn’t necessarily provide answers but asks fundamental questions about how we live, how we think, and who we trust."

You can catch Leave the World Behind, streaming now on Netflix.

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