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It’s a good time to be a fan of science-fiction movies. Whether your tastes favor explosive, big-budget spectacles or subtle, thought-provoking stories that explore life’s biggest questions, the last few years have offered up something for everyone — and the same can be said for what’s headed to the big screen down the road.
Sci-fi literature has long been fertile ground for Hollywood, and with some of the cinema’s most popular projects beginning as novels or short stories that made the leap from page to screen, it’s easy to get ahead of the curve when it comes to sci-fi movies. In that vein, we’ve compiled a list of some of the sci-fi stories that currently have big-screen adaptations in various stages of development, so you can get an early peek at the next big things hitting theaters. We’ll periodically update this article as time goes on, too, so feel free to leave a comment with any projects you’d like to see added to the list.
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
This award-winning 2014 novel followed a group of four female scientists — including a biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor — who set out to explore a mysterious region known as “Area X” after the previous 11 attempts to survey the area resulted in strange, terrifying results for everyone involved with the expeditions. The first book in a trilogy, Annihilation won the 2014 Nebula Award for the year’s best sci-fi novel.
Written and directed by Ex Machina filmmaker Alex Garland, the big-screen adaptation of Annihilation has an all-star cast that features Academy Award winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan) as the biologist and Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight) as the psychologist, as well as Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), Tessa Thompson (Creed), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina), and David Gyasi (Containment). The film is expected to arrive in theaters sometime during 2017.
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Another Nebula Award winner, The Forever War tells the story of a soldier recruited to battle an aggressive alien species light-years from Earth in a two-year conflict, only to discover that traveling to and from the battlefield has actually caused several decades to pass on Earth. Coming home to an Earth very different from the one he left, he’s uncertain whether this new world was indeed worth fighting for.
Ridley Scott first announced he was adapting The Forever War in 2008, but the project eventually fell into development limbo until Warner Bros. Pictures picked up the rights to the story again in 2015. Prometheus and Passengers writer Jon Spaihts is currently penning the script for the film, and Channing Tatum is attached to star in it. There’s no release date set for the film at this point.
Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman
Acclaimed storyteller Neil Gaiman and comic book artist Skottie Young collaborated on this 2013 story about a father who goes out to get some milk, only to get caught up in a wild adventure involving time travel, a stegosaurus piloting a balloon, and a volcano god, among other unexpected obstacles.
Back in 2015, it was reported that Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs the World filmmaker Edgar Wright was attached to direct Johnny Depp in an adaptation of the story, with Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords penning the script. That combination had 20th Century Fox in early talks for the rights to the film, but it almost seems too good to be true — which is probably why we haven’t heard anything about the project since that initial announcement.
Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson
This 1967 novel is set in a dystopian future with scarce resources for the human population, leading society to implement a rule that requires everyone over the age of 21 to voluntarily end their lives. When one of the agents tasked with killing citizens who “run” from the rule decides to run himself as his time comes due, it sets off a chain of events that shakes the very foundation of this dark new human civilization.
The novel was adapted into a 1976 film starring Michael York which was nominated for three Academy Awards and won one for its visual effects. A remake was first announced back in the 1990s, and an update in July 2015 had X-Men franchise screenwriter Simon Kinberg penning yet another draft of the script. The studio is also reported to be considering a female lead for the adaptation.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
The winner of the Hugo Award in 1967, Heinlein’s celebrated novel chronicles a Lunar city’s revolution after years of serving as a penal colony for Earth. The story follows the revolt from its earliest stages to its final outcome, and explores a future in which humanity must contend with the ramifications of extending its reach beyond Earth.
In March 2015, X-Men franchise director Bryan Singer announced plans to adapt Heinlein’s story for 20th Century Fox from a script by Arrow series producer Marc Guggenheim. The title of the film will be changed to Uprising. There’s no official release date set for the film at this point.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Ernest Cline’s debut novel is set in a dystopian future in which the majority of the population escapes from their bleak reality in a virtual universe known as OASIS. When the creator of OASIS dies, it sets off a wild treasure hunt that will give the winner control of the virtual universe and the creator’s immense fortune. The story follows a treasure hunter named Wade Watts who must use his encyclopedic knowledge of the ’80s — the OASIS creator’s favorite era in pop culture — to navigate the hunt and stop a sinister corporation from gaining control of OASIS.
The movie based on Ready Player One began filming in June 2016 with Steven Spielberg directing the adaptation from a script by The Avengers and Alphas screenwriter Zak Penn. The film is currently scheduled to hit theaters March 30, 2018.
Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
Robopocalypse describes the origins, evolution, and culmination of mankind’s devastating, global battle with an artificial intelligence that takes over automated services and machines. Much in the same way World War Z chronicled humanity’s war with zombies through a collection of fictional accounts from the front lines, the story unfolds from the perspective of several characters in different locations around the world as they watch the world change dramatically — and often horrifically — in front of their eyes. The character eventually find themselves playing integral roles in the war that will decide humanity’s fate.
The book was optioned by Steven Spielberg in 2011 with the filmmaker planning to direct the adaptation himself from a script by The Cabin in the Woods screenwriter and director Drew Goddard, but the project was put on hold in 2013 in order to further develop the script and make it a more manageable production.
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
This debut novel tells the story of a young girl who falls through a weak spot in the ground one day and lands in the palm of a giant, mysterious metal hand. Years later, that girl is a physicist still trying to unravel the mystery of the metal hand, and her quest for answers sends her around the globe as the mystery deepens.
Neuvel’s self-published novel was optioned almost as soon as it was published. Spider-Man franchise producer Matt Tolmach is overseeing the adaptation and Jurassic Park, witgh War of the Worlds screenwriter David Koepp penning the screenplay. The big-screen version of the story was retitled The Themis Files and is envisioned as the first chapter of a trilogy.
The Tempest by Julie Cross
Another story envisioned as the first chapter in a trilogy, Julie Cross’ 2012 novel is a time-travel adventure that has its teenage protagonist accidentally discovering his ability to move through time after he witnesses the murder of his girlfriend. That discovery puts him in the crosshairs of a shadowy government agency and in the middle of a time-spanning war as he struggles to save the life of the girl he loves without ripping apart the fabric of time.
The rights to the novel were picked up by producing partners (and brothers) Scott and Sean Cross — who aren’t related to Julie Cross — as well as Mimi Polk Gitlin, a former producing partner of Ridley Scott who teamed with Scott to co-produce the 1991 classic Thelma and Louise. There’s no official development timeline or release date announced for the film.
Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
Wesley Chu’s 2015 novel unfolds in a future that has seen mankind depart Earth to colonize the stars, leaving behind a bleak, toxic planet. The protagonist is a convicted criminal whose psychological profile makes him the ideal candidate for an agency that sends people back in time to recover valuable resources and treasures from mankind’s history on Earth in order to prolong the species’ future. On his final mission he saves a female scientist destined to die, turning them both into fugitives in the future timeline.
Paramount Pictures picked up the rights to Chu’s novel before it even hit shelves, and Michael Bay is attached to direct the adaptation. There’s no word on when the project will go into production or what sort of timeline (pun totally intended) the studio is envisioning for it at this point.
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January 21, 2017 at 11:31AM