With the abundance of inadequate reboots and remakes being thrust upon audiences, and with the never-ending supply of superhero movies, movie-lovers can feel hard-done-by due to the lack of any quality, big-budget sci-fi films to look forward to. Thankfully, reliable directors like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, among others, have projects lined up in 2020 and beyond that are sure to delight fans.
A good sci-fi needs to be equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining, with a premise that stretches the imagination. The following list features 10 upcoming films that all sci-fi lovers can get excited about, with some that cross over with different genres, casting a wider net for their audience base.
Free Guy (2020)
Fan-favorite actor Ryan Reynolds plays an unassuming bank teller who finds out that he is actually a non-playable character in a violent, open-world video game (think Grand Theft Auto) in Shawn Levy’s Free Guy. Things get interesting when he realizes he can bend the rules of the game to his will.
The film features a unique premise and is full of action, adventure, and comedy. Gamers will no doubt be drawn to this film, while Reynolds’ star power should be enough to reel in the mainstream movie-loving audience. If ever a film were to ask you to suspend your disbelief, this would be it, making it excellent viewing for all sci-fi fans.
Tenet (2020)
Acclaimed director Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated new film Tenet is a mind-bending action crime-thriller that features time travel, international espionage, along with profound themes like evolution and rebirth. In true Nolan fashion, the film’s plot has been left purposefully ambiguous, saving what is sure to be many a surprise for opening day.
Nolan’s signature style is all over this one, promising epic and inventive action set-pieces with a story that’s set to boggle the mind. Audiences can expect a film that will stick with them long after the credits roll, and one that will likely require multiple viewings before a person can get a grasp on the finer plot details.
Bios (2020)
Film history’s greatest everyman actor Tom Hanks stars in the upcoming sci-fi film Bios, where he plays the last man alive in a post-apocalyptic world. Suffering from poor health, he builds a robot to keep him and his dog safe as they embark on a cross-country trek. On their journey, Hanks’ character will need to forge a bond between his dog and its eventual new robot owner.
Bios is being developed by Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, so there will be plenty of that movie-magic that Spielberg fans are accustom to. Add to that the world’s most loveable leading man and sci-fi fans should be in store for a dramatic and heartfelt film that is sure to please audiences of all ages.
The Tomorrow War (2020)
A military-themed sci-fi action war film, The Tomorrow War stars Chris Pratt as a solider enlisted to fight in a futuristic war where scientists have developed a way to bring soldiers in from the past to fight a deadly alien threat. Pratt’s character must come to terms with his past in order to save humanity.
While there isn’t much more to go on other than the basic outline for the film, it’s refreshing to know that The Tomorrow War is an original story that hasn’t been adapted or rebooted from anything. Pratt is at the top of his game at the moment which definitely adds to the appeal of this film.
Dune (2020)
Dune is a tale of a man born into nobility, who is tasked with protecting the most valuable element in all of the galaxy from falling into the wrong hands. It’s a story that mirrors aspects of the real world’s desire for possession of precious commodities and the destructive consequences that come with such a desire.
David Lynch attempted to adapt Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi tome Dune for the big screen in 1984, and sufficed to say, it wasn’t his finest hour, with the film receiving mostly negative reviews. The novel has been notoriously difficult to adapt, though if anyone can do it, it’s Denis Villeneuve, who is currently at the forefront of sci-fi cinema.
Superintelligence (2020)
Comedy superstar Melissa McCarthy brings a touch of humor to the sci-fi movie-scape in 2020 with Superintelligence. In it, she plays a relatively ordinary woman who becomes subject to observation from an artificial intelligence that may just be planning to take over the world. McCarthy’s character is the only thing that stands between the potentially deadly AI and humanity’s survival.
McCarthy teams up for a third collaboration with director Ben Falcone. The real-life couple has worked together on prior films like Life of the Party, The Boss, and Tammy. This comedic power couple knows how to get the audience in stitches, and audiences should expect no less from their latest.
Voyagers (TBA)
Voyagers is an upcoming sci-fi thriller from Divergent director Neil Burger, which sees a group of 30 men and women on a mission through deep space to find a new planet to call home. Things go south when the crew begins to descend into madness and begin to turn on each other.
The premise of Voyagers isn’t entirely original, however, the vastness of space causing madness amongst space travelers is a theme that never gets old. Deep space thrillers such as this always make for excellent suspense-filled viewing experiences, and when they’re set in claustrophobic spaces like in a starship, the audience can generally feel the same sense of unease as the film’s characters.
Matrix 4 (2021)
The Wachowski’s took the world by storm with the release of their seminal sci-fi classic The Matrix in 1999. The film re-defined cinema and went on to become a huge critical and financial success while cementing itself a permanent place in pop culture history. It spawned two less-than-stellar sequels, but despite that, there has still yet to be another sci-fi film that’s come close to achieving the same social impact as The Matrix.
In 2021, Lana Wachowski returns with another attempt to change the sci-fi landscape yet again with The Matrix 4. There are no plot details for the film as yet, though it’s been revealed that original franchise stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity, which is already enough information to get excited about this film.
Jurassic World: Dominion (2021)
The third film in the Jurassic World franchise, Dominion, follows the events of 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which saw the dinosaurs begin to make their way into the suburbs. Nothing else has been revealed about the plot as yet, though fans can expect this series to go in a direction it hasn’t gone before.
Colin Trevorrow returns to the director’s chair to close out the trilogy, and Jurassic Park fans will be happy to hear that the original film’s stars, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum are set to appear alongside current franchise stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard. It’s a win-win situation for fans of the old series, and new.
Chaos Walking (2021)
Set in a dystopian world where no women exist and all living beings can hear each others’ thoughts by a phenomenon known as ‘Noise’, a man discovers a source of silence in what appears to be the only living woman on the planet. The pair set out on an adventure to discover the mysteries of the world they inhabit.
Based on a popular young-adult sci-novel and directed by Doug Liman, Chaos Walking is a potential new franchise vehicle for its stars Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley. The pair have each carried billion-dollar franchises in the MCU’s Spider-Man series for Holland and Star Wars for Ridley, so it’s no surprise that producers have gotten two of the biggest young stars in Hollywood to join forces on a new sci-fi series, which should appeal to each actor’s massive fanbase.