It’s September 2012. Over the last twelve years, I’ve lost count of how many sci-fi shows have flopped and been cancelled; how many sci-fi movies have proved to be massive disappointments.
Is the future bleak?
I don’t think so.
Yes, we’ve got endless remakes on the cards. Reboots of Spider-Man and Total Recall are on their way, and most of the highly-anticipated films are sequels. But, while a lot of Hollywood focuses on massive profit margins and established brand names, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic.
Cloud Atlas, for one, is on its way. The Wachowskis are back, with an adaptation of David Mitchell’s 2004 novel, boasting a cast that would melt diamonds. Hanks, Berry, Broadbent, Weaving, Grant, Sarandon… they’re all there. The film premiered last week at the Toronto International Film Festival, receiving a 10-minute standing ovation. It’s also the most expensive independent movie of all-time. It’s out October 26th.
Noah is being put together by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan & The Fountain). It’s not sci-fi (unless your individual stance on religious is particularly abstract), but since The Fountain is one of my favourite films, I can’t wait for this. It’s starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Watson, so that bodes well. Slated for release in March 2014.
The Gate is a short-film, shown below, that’s also just been picked up for feature-length production with the same director. Could be good, might lose everything good about it on the way, but it’s worth looking out for.
Life of Pi is another one based on a book, this time written by Yann Martel. Director Ang Lee is bringing it to the big screen, starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Tobey Maguire. Not strictly sci-fi again, it’s about a young man surviving at sea, but it’s coming out in 3D and it looks – quite frankly – remarkable. It’s out November, and the trailer’s below.
Futhermore, Brian Singer’s working on ‘H+‘, Tom Cruise is working on Oblivion. There’s actually quite a lot on the cards at the moment.
Not to mention The Hobbit. Peter Jackson just makes me tingle with the way everything is put together in this trailer.
And to round off, The Host. Now, before you all crucify me, I know it’s based on a book by Stephanie Meyer (who did Twilight…) but I have it on good authority that he’s much better than that literary monstrosity. (Disclaimer: it’s not her authority. She hasn’t noticed the Cold War’s ended. Probably because she hasn’t heard of it.)
A nice spoiler-free teaser trailer, for this one, is below.
There’s also some pretty decent stuff coming out on TV.
Revolution, one of the many JJ Abrams projects underway, premieres next week (although it has been streaming online legally for US residents). There’ve been a few who have been comparing it to Jeremiah, and they may have a point, but I wouldn’t write this one off just yet. Trailer attached.
So, no reason to get totally depressed just yet.