Upcoming Science-Fiction Movies of 2016

Upcoming Science-Fiction Movies of 2016

In anticipation of what 2016 might bring to Science Fiction on film I have made my short list. Before readers cry foul after they haven’t seen their favorite movie on this list. Beware I have chosen movies that are at their core Science Fiction and are not exclusively meant for young adults.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

The new Batman movie set for 2016 (or new Superman movie which way you may look at it) is drawing attention from the shear odds defying set up alone. Nobody has ever put two superheroes up against each other in a movie. Certainly I don’t remember such a movie. Yet director Zack Snyder has pressed on with a movie that judging from the trailer sets Ben Affleck, Mark Zuckerberg up with a bunch of fascists. I just want to see this movie to find out if it is any good. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be the first movie of this list to be released, on March 25th. Later on, in August there will also be a tie-in movie, Suicide Squad with Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

When I first heard Disney would release more movies besides those of the Sequel Trilogy I was skeptical. It seemed too much like milking a franchise. Though I remain skeptical I cannot deny that the first of the Anthology movies captivates me. So far the production staff headed by Gareth Edwards have done everything correct. The story is about a rebel team attempting to steal the plans for the Death Star prior to events of the original Star Wars movie. To me it invokes the image of The Empire Strikes Back meets Where Eagles Dare. I can only hope the story will also tie in to events mentioned in the opening crawl of Star Wars. With a stellar cast that includes Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen and Forest Whittaker it won’t be the acting that will get this movie down. Rogue One won’t see John Williams return, instead it will be Alexandre Desplat that will score the movie. There have been vague re-assurances the movie will also feature the familiar Star Wars tunes. Rogue One has so far managed to get the attention of Star Wars fans, but will ordinary moviegoers go and see it? The movie’s release is set for December 16th.

Star Trek Beyond

After the disappointment that was Star Trek Into Darkness expectations for the third movie are high. The director, Justin Lin, was considered a controversial choice, though his success as a director can’t be denied. What Star Trek Beyond needs to do is nothing short of reviving a movie series that has so far seen gaps between productions that are too long. That said, this new movie based on a script by Simon Pegg and Roberto Orci certainly seems refreshing. Some fans are worried it will be set mostly on a planet and not be space bound. Some have even criticized the look of the film based on just the trailer. I find nothing wrong with either, but you can see the trailer yourself below.

Star Trek Beyond stars Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Anton Yelchin and Idris Elba. The movie is set for a July 22nd release. Just in time for Star Trek’s 50th birthday.

Independence Day: Resurgence

For a while it was unclear which franchise Roland Emmerich would reboot: Stargate or Independence Day. Sadly it was the latter. Don’t get me wrong, the original movie from 1995 was great fun. It cemented the reputations of both Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. Yet, it is still a B-movie. Stargate spawned an entire franchise. Even so I feel it has more potential. I hope the new Independence Day movie will be a success, but the idea does seem to be little more than lip-service to fans who might only remember the movie being better than it truly was. Independence Day: Resurgence stars Liam Hemsworth, Sela Wars and Jessie Usher. Jeff Goldblum will also be back, as will Bull Pullman, but not Will Smith. The movie is set for release on June 24th.

Captain America: Civil War

I will admit that both the new Captain America movie and Batman v Superman may not be good examples of Science-fiction. There is a case to be made they are superhero movies bordering on fantasy. Nonetheless I will include both on my list. The new Captain America movie comes on the heels of The Winter Soldier from 2014 and Iron Man 3 from 2013. The movie has the honor of being the first chapter of Phase Three. Personally I am starting to feel fatigued with all the MCU movies. Even studio bosses have complained the creative staff are packing in way too many side characters just to provide lip service to fans. Nonetheless, both Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr are sure to fill up cinemas with their presence alone. I will watch just to find out what happened to Bucky (Sebastian Stan). Captain America: Civil War is directed by the Russo Brothers and is set for release on May 6th.

Beyond 2016

Readers may have disagreed with some of my choices. I know some may have wanted me to include X-Men: Apocalypse as well. Certainly, X-Men: Days of Future Past would have been on my list of anticipated sci-fi movies of 2014. Yet, I fear this sequel won’t live up to the quality to what I consider to be the high-point of the franchise. We shall see. 2016 is shaping up to be an interesting year. I would consider Star Trek Beyond to be the litmus test. Yet I also think 2016 is a transitory year. This year we had The Force Awakens, 2017 will have Episode 8, Aliens: Covenant. Ghost in the Shell, Valérian and the City of a Thousand Planets and possible Blade Runner. Though I suspect the latter to be released in 2018, but it certainly will feature Harrison Ford and it will be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario).

That was it for my Upcoming Science-Fiction Movies of 2016. Let me end this post by wishing everybody a very happy new year. Tomorrow I have special write-up planned. I will be detailing the books I intend to release in 2016!