Herein lie some of the most anticipated sci-fi films of 2021 lined up for your perusal in the order of their release. Many of these titles were supposed to be released already last year, but were pushed back, some even few times, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. And as the world struggles to comprehend the enormity of the ongoing pandemic, yet again, science reality proved to be even more bizarre than science fiction.
Fans of Evangelion franchise had to wait over 8 years for this fourth and final instalment in the relaunch of Evangelion tetralogy after 2012’s release of the third film – Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. Originally expected for release in 2015, the film was delayed due to Hideaki Anno's depression following the troubled production of the third film and also due to his directorial involvement with the 2016 kaiju film Shin Godzilla. Not much is known about the last part at the moment, only that the running time could be over two hours, as suggested by the production company Studio Khara, and that the movie’s theme song is ‘One Last Kiss’, performed by Hikaru Utada.
English actor Jack O'Connell (of the ‘Skins’ fame) landed a lead role in this American sci-fi romantic drama directed by Chad Hartigan from a screenplay by Mattson Tomlin. He is joined by other cast members including Olivia Cooke, Raúl Castillo and French singer Soko. The plot of the film revolves around a young couple struggling to hold their relationship together as a highly infectious memory loss virus, spreading amongst the populace, threatens to erase the history of their romance and love. Ironically, the movie with scheduled world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on 17 April 2020 was postponed due to the real virus outbreak in COVID-19 pandemic.
This American science fiction action-adventure film is directed by Doug Liman from a screenplay written by Christopher Ford and Patrick Ness who also wrote the trilogy of books on which is the movie based. The film is adapting the first book of the trilogy, ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’. The movie, that is set on a dystopian planet where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by the ‘Noise’ – a mysterious force that puts all their thoughts on display, is starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland in the leading roles, alongside David Oyelowo, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Nick Jonas and Cynthia Erivo who join them in supporting roles.
Originally developed by film director Joe Carnahan under the title ‘Continue’ at 20th Century Fox, Boss Level was initially bound to be released by Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, but was subsequently acquired in an eight-figure deal by Hulu for a 2021 release. The film, which was shot on locations in the US states of Atlanta and Georgia, revolves around Roy Pulver, a retired special forces soldier who tries to escape a never-ending time loop he has found himself trapped in, that always results in his death. In addition to Frank Grillo who portrays Roy Pulver and co-produces the movie, the cast includes Mel Gibson, Naomi Watts and Michelle Yeoh.
A sequel to ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ and ‘Kong: Skull Island’, Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse that concentrates on cross-overs of assorted monster franchises owned or licenced by Legendary Entertainment. The movie, which is no fewer than 36th (!!!) entry in the Godzilla franchise as well as 12th entry in the King Kong franchise, will pit Godzilla against King Kong for the second time after the 1962 Japanese kaiju film King Kong vs. Godzilla. The film stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Eiza González, Jessica Henwick, Kyle Chandler and Demián Bichir amongst other cast members.
This sci-fi drama written and directed by Lisa Joy in her feature directorial debut boast a star-studded cast including Hugh Jackman, Thandie Newton, Cliff Curtis, Rebecca Ferguson, Daniel Wu and Natalie Martinez. Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a rugged, solitary veteran living in a near-future Miami flooded by rising seas, deals in a strange commodity: he enables others to relive memories from their past. One of his clients is Mae (Rebecca Ferguson), with whom he soon starts a passionate love affair. But then a different client’s memories implicate Mae in a series of violent crimes and Nick must dive into the dark world of the past to uncover the truth.
American science fiction action comedy film set in the open world video game Free City, where Guy (portrayed by Ryan Reynolds) is an insentient non-player character working day in, day out as a nondescript bank teller. But then, thanks to a program developed by coders ‘Molotov Girl’ Milly (Jodie Comer) and Keys (Joe Keery) and inserted into Free City by the publisher Antoine (Taika Waititi), Guy becomes aware of his world being only a video game, takes steps to make himself a hero of Free City and in the process creates a race against time to save his small universe from annihilation as the developers plan to shut the online video game in which he lives down.
Adapted from D. Eric Maikranz’s novel ‘The Reincarnationist Papers’, the movie stars Mark Wahlberg as Evan McCauley, a man discovering that hallucinations he is experiencing are not symptoms of his mental illness, but in fact recollections from his past lives. This science fiction action film was directed by Antoine Fuqua with filming taking place on multiple exotic locations around the world including Mexico City, Nepal, Thailand, England, Scotland and New York City. The character Evan McCauley should be originally portrayed by Chris Evans of Captain America fame, but he dropped out of the project due to scheduling issues, with Mark Wahlberg replacing him.
This military science fiction film was directed by Chris McKay in his live-action directorial debut and stars Chris Pratt in the main role of Barney Gamble, the gunnery sergeant upon whose shoulders, and his willingness to confront the ghosts of his past, rests the fate of a future war, when humanity, in a last-ditch attempt to turn the tide of a losing war against an alien invasion, develops a technology to draft elite soldiers from the past. Alongside Chris Pratt, who also executive produces the movie, appear Keith Powers, Yvonne Strahovski, Mike Mitchell, Betty Gilpin and J. K. Simmons. Creature designer Ken Barthelmey is behind the representation of aliens in the film.
Tom Hanks stars as Finch – an ailing inventor and one of the last few men on Earth who, after building an android to keep him and his dog company as well as protect the life of his beloved pooch after he dies, embarks on a long journey across the country. Jeff the android will be portrayed by Caleb Landry Jones, with Skeet Ulrich, Samira Wiley and Laura Harrier also joining the cast. The movie, directed by Miguel Sapochnik from a screenplay written by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell, will be produced by Amblin Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. Film's production took place in New Mexico, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Los Lunas and White Sands.
The sequel to the 2018’s critically acclaimed sci-fi horror ‘A Quiet Place’ was written and directed by John Krasinski and sees return of Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe, who all reprise their roles from the first film. Evelyn Abbott’s (Emily Blunt) husband Lee (John Krasinski) who was killed in the first part, also returns in flashback sequences, as the film’s director said he wrote himself into the sequel because the first movie “was such a personal experience” and “love letter” to his children. Couple’s deaf daughter Regan (portrayed by a hearing impaired American teen actress Millie Simmonds) will this time play much more important part in the film.
The most eagerly anticipated relaunch of a science fiction franchise in a decade, Dune was scheduled to be released on 18 December 2020, but was pushed back almost a whole year to 1 October 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related concerns of diminished returns at the box office. Apart from Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides, the main protagonist of the movie and Zendaya as Chani, a young Fremen woman, Paul’s love interest and later his concubine, the film boasts an impressive ensemble cast of famous actors including Dave Bautista, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Rampling, Stellan Skarsgård and Rebecca Ferguson.
The first film by a British animation studio Locksmith Animation, who claims to be the UK’s only dedicated high-end CGI feature animation studio dedicated to making films for a global family audience, Ron's Gone Wrong will be distributed by 20th Century Fox under their 20th Century Fox Animation label. The animated film, centred on a 13-year-old boy who attempts to teach a digital bot what friendship means in a world of algorithms and social media, was according to the studio, due to the restrictions related to COVID-19 outbreak, done entirely online, with 250 animators and other crew members working at home, mostly in the UK, from their attics and living rooms.
After an unexpected tragedy following the events of Avengers: Endgame, the Eternals – an immortal alien race created by the Celestials who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7000 years – reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterpart, the Deviants. Thus goes the premise of Marvel Cinematic Universe's 26th film Eternals, based on the Marvel Comics race of the same name. Directed by Chloé Zhao on a screenplay by Kaz Firpo, the movie features well-known stars including Kit Harington, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Gemma Chan, Don Lee, Salma Hayek, Barry Keoghan and Lia McHugh.
Also titled ‘Ghostbusters: Legacy’ or ‘Ghostbusters: From Beyond’ in some markets, the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise picks up thirty years after the second film, when a family that moves to a small town discovers their connection to the original Ghostbusters and their grandfather’s secret legacy. After the reboot film ended up being a box office bomb with losses of over $70 million, Columbia Pictures abandoned plans for a sequel and began developing a direct sequel to the original two Ghostbusters instead. The new cast will be joined by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts, who will reprise their roles from the first two films.
The fourth instalment in The Matrix franchise, the film is co-written, directed and produced by Lana Wachowski, co-creator of the first three films in tandem with her sibling Lilly Wachowski, who was not involved with the movie due to her work on the Showtime series ‘Work in Progress’, but gave her blessing to the sequel, being quoted as saying that its plot is “even better than the original”. Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lambert Wilson and Daniel Bernhardt are all returning to reprise their roles from the previous films in the series. The film production took place in San Francisco, Chicago and at Babelsberg Studio in Germany.
Micronauts was a sci-fi toyline created and marketed by American toy company Mego from 1976 to 1980, based on and licensed from the original toyline Microman, created by Japanese toy maker Takara. After Hasbro acquired the rights to the Micronauts toyline, it was announced that Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions were planning to develop a feature-film addition to the franchise, based more on the original line of toys than on the subsequent comic book series. The movie, written and directed by Dean DeBlois, was supposed to be released on 4 June 2021, but was since pulled from the release schedule and put on hold by Paramount Pictures.
This American sci-fi film written and directed by Kogonada, is set in a world where robotic children can be bought as live-in babysitters. When one such robotic family member, Yang, suddenly becomes unresponsive, a father and daughter who became fond of him attempt to save his life. The movie, which is a big screen adaptation of ‘Saying Goodbye to Yang’ – a short science fiction story written by Alexander Weinstein, stars Justin H. Min as bot-babysitter Yang, with Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Haley Lu Richardson, Sarita Choudhury, Clifton Collins, Brett Dier and singing child prodigy Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja completing the cast.
A media franchise that revolves around a boy named Jonny Quest who accompanies his scientist father on a string of extraordinary adventures, that can be summed up as "Harry Potter in an Indiana Jones movie" and which so far consists primarily of three animated television series that aired in the 60s, 80s and 90s and a few comic books, is about to get a new addition in the form of a feature film directed by Chris McKay. With a plethora of potential source material in this intellectual property (the three TV series ran to 90 episodes in total) the producers hope that the live-action film would start a new big-screen franchise with multiple sequels and spinoffs.
In this sci-fi thriller film, the crew of a spaceship headed for Mars discovers an accidental stowaway (Shamier Anderson) shortly after take-off. Too far from Earth to turn back and with their resources quickly dwindling, the majority of the crewmembers (Toni Collette and Daniel Dae Kim) consent that the only possible outcome, that doesn’t put their lives and ultimately the whole mission in jeopardy, is the one where the stowaway’s life is terminated. The ship’s medical researcher (Anna Kendrick) is the only one who dares to voice her dissent with the group decision. Stowaway is bound to be shown on Netflix, which acquired distribution rights to the film back in 2020.
Set in the near future, the film chronicles the odyssey of a group of 30 young men and women on a multi-generational space mission in search of a new home for humanity. As often in these settings, the mission soon descends into madness, as all the crew members slowly revert to their most primeval state, not knowing anymore if the real threat they face is what is outside the spaceship or who they have become inside it The film, that was described as “Lord of the Flies in space” was written and directed by Neil Burger, stars Colin Farrell, Tye Sheridan, Lily-Rose Depp and Fionn Whitehead amongst others and its principal photography took place in Romania.
Also set in the near future in a colony of state-of-the-art androids, the film follows private detective David Carmichael (Guy Pearce), who is hired by Marlon Veidt (Travis Fimmel), an eccentric businessman, to find his daughter Melissa (Holly Demaine). In order to solve the mystery and track down the missing daughter, David teams up with Jane (Matilda Lutz), a highly advanced self-aware A.I.., with whom they uncover a crime that leads them to question the very origins of Zone 414. The movie, which was written by Bryan Edward Hill and directed by Andrew Baird, was filmed primarily in Northern Ireland and is scheduled for release in the United States by Saban Films.
Yet another science fiction action disaster film written and directed by Roland Emmerich, who with the similarly-themed blockbusters such as The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 cemented his reputation as an undisputed master of disaster genre. Following in a similar vein to his previous disaster movies, the film revolves about a disparate space crew that travels to the Moon to prevent it destroying Earth after it is struck by a rogue asteroid and sent on a fatal collision course with our planet. The film boast an impressive cast of international stars including Donald Sutherland, Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, Stanley Tucci, John Bradley and Charlie Plummer.
This multi-media science fiction franchise began with a 1985 anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production, but since grown to encompass almost all genres, including books, comics, video games and action figures. Live-action film was proposed as far back as 2007, when Warner Bros acquired the film rights to the franchise, but the progress stalled until 2015 when the franchise had been licenced by Sony Pictures who hired Jason Fuchs to write the script and Andy Muschietti, who said in 2019 that the script is now completed but the live-action adaptation demands at least $100 million budget, to direct the movie.
Based on a science fiction novel by Daniel H. Wilson, the storyline revolves around a computer scientist who accidentally unleashes a supremely intelligent sentient A.I. named Archos R-14, that becomes self-aware and immediately starts planning the elimination of human race and building a new ecology, where the organic is being merged with robotic. Ever since the released book became a bestseller, a live-action film adaptation was mooted with Drew Goddard hired to write the screenplay and Steven Spielberg signing on to direct. However, Spielberg continually delayed the project due to scheduling conflicts, and was therefore later replaced by Michael Bay as the director.
In 2018 it was announced that Ed Neumeier was writing a direct sequel to his original 1987 RoboCop film, whose storyline would ignore both the two subsequent films and the 2014 remake, with Neumeier quoted that “this would be kind of going back to the old RoboCop we all love and starting there and going forward”. To further reiterate that this will be a genuine continuation of the first movie, Neill Blomkamp, who was hired to direct, confirmed that the original RoboCop suit would be used in the sequel, saying literally: “1 million % original”, but he was since replaced by Abe Forsythe, so that he can concentrate on his Archon supernatural horror film instead.
This American science fiction film written by Corey Large and Edward Drake who also directed the movie, with Bruce Willis and Frank Grillo in main roles, charts a precarious situation humanity finds itself in when seven rogue soldiers (along the lines of an ancient adage attributed to Chinese general and military strategist Sun Tzu – “the best defence is an offence”) launch a pre-emptive strike against a newly discovered alien civilization, hoping to end an interstellar war before it actually starts. The movie, with its principal photography wrapped in March 2020, also stars Luke Wilson, Adelaide Kane, C.J. Perry, Lochlyn Munro and Brandon Thomas Lee.
More political satire than disaster science fiction, the film boasts a truly impressive ensemble cast of superstars led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, who portray two insignificant astronomers attempting, via a media tour, to warn mankind about an impending danger posed by a huge asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Other well-known stars appearing in the supporting roles are Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande, Ron Perlman, Chris Evans and Timothée Chalamet. The film was written and directed by Adam McKay, produced by Hyperobject Industries, shot at various locations in Massachusetts and will be shown on Netflix.
A dystopian sci-fi romance, based on Katie Khan’s novel of the same name, about Max (portrayed by John Boyega) and Carys (played by Letitia Wright) – two space travellers in their mid-twenties who fall in love in a world where coupling is frowned upon. Then a terrible disaster strikes and they find themselves drifting in space with only ninety minutes of air left, with nothing to hold onto but each other. Carys and Max can’t help but look back at the well-ordered world they have left behind. A world whose rules they couldn’t submit to, a place where they never really belonged, but a home they’re determined to get back to because they’ve come too far to lose each other now.
The Six Million Dollar Man was a cult sci-fi action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, who, after a NASA test flight accident, is rebuilt with superhuman strength, speed, and vision due to bionic implants and then employed as a secret agent by U.S. Government. Plans for a big screen adaptation were afoot as far back as 1995, but they never materialised, until 2017, when the Weinstein Company sold the film’s rights to Warner Bros and the project has finally moved ahead under the new name, adjusted for inflation, ‘The Six Billion Dollar Man’ with Bill Dubuque as screenwriter and Travis Knight as director.
Based on a long-running sci-fi comic strip from the British comic magazine 2000 AD by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, Rogue Trooper follows the adventures of ‘Genetic Infantryman’ Rogue – a blue-skinned genetically engineered super soldier and his quest for his arch-enemy, the Traitor General. The rumours about a feature film adaptation have been doing the rounds for quite some time now, and were confirmed in November 2018 when Rebellion Developments announced founding of a brand new dedicated film studio in Didcot, England, with Duncan Jones-helmed Rogue Trooper as one of their first projects alongside Judge Dredd: Mega-City One TV series.
When rogue gravity waves hit Earth, Fei (Liu Yifei), a young Chinese theoretical physicist and Lucky (Travis Fimmel), an American con man, race against time to prevent a global tragedy. Fighting a wary scientific community and with the US government represented by a Homeland Security investigator (Samuel L. Jackson) in pursuit, Fei and Lucky must enlist the help of a disgraced physicist and the International Space Station to stop the world ending in a cataclysmic gravity inversion. The movie, directed by Peter Segal from the screenplay by the quartet of writers: Paul Haggis, Bragi F. Schut, David Arata and Michael Finch, is produced by Facing East.
Based on the first novel in a trilogy of bestselling books by a young adult fiction writer Paolo Bacigalupi, Shipbreaker is set in a dark post-apocalyptic future devastated by the ravages of climate change. Aided by his half-man companion Tool, Nailer, a poor scavenger, discovers a massive clipper ship stranded on the beach. He must decide to strip the ship of all it’s worth or rescue the only survivor of the shipwreck, Nita, a beautiful and wealthy girl who, unbeknown to him, will pull him into a fierce family civil war with the balance of power for all of humanity at stake. The film adaptation of the novel is produced by Facing East financing and production company.
Intelligent Life, by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment has been in development for a while. The film, based on the original script by Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow and his collaborator Derek Connolly, focuses on a United Nation employee who, while monitoring outer space, makes contact with a beautiful woman (reportedly, Lupita Nyong'o was in talks to star in the role), who may or may not be of extra-terrestrial origin. The script to the romantic science fiction film is at the moment being rewritten by Jay Roach, who is also being encouraged by Amblin to take a bigger, perhaps directorial, role once the polishing of the script has been finished.
This science fiction alien invasion spy thriller, that has reportedly James McTeigue (whose directorial debut 'V for Vendetta' met with critical acclaim) attached to direct, is in development at least since 2016. The last word was that Justin Monjo was rewriting the movie’s screenplay, originally written by Morgan Davis Foehl. The film’s financing is being facilitated by Solidarity, the new company formed by Joni Sighvatsson, who will also co-produce the movie with Adrian Askarieh, producer of Hitman. James McTeigue is no stranger to science fiction genre, having directed several episodes of the sci-fi drama television series Sense8 by The Wachowskis.