New Upcoming Sci-fi and Fantasy Movie
I’m ignoring most of the big franchise stuff as it has recently proved to be utterly disappointing. Instead, we have lots of strange, creative and original work to look forward to including an apocalypse musical, an android exploring human emotions, and a story about a clone who lives forever.
Murderbot (Apple TV)
What did we say about Apple loving weird, interesting sci-fi? Here is another bold series. Based on an award-winning series of novels called The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, the story follows a security android that is both horrified and fascinated by human emotion.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this series is the casting. Alexander Skarsgård will star as the titular Murderbot, and we couldn’t think of a better actor to play a cold, calculating android learning to understand human emotion.
Dark Matter (Apple TV)
Dark Matter stars Joel Edgerton as a physicist who is pulled into a parallel dimension while his doppelganger takes over his life in his world.
The series is from author Blake Crouch, based on his own 2016 novel. Crouch is probably best known for his short-lived, but absolutely bonkers, TV series Wayward Pines. The novel has been described as “madly fast-moving” and a “fun ride.” So this is likely to be more on the wildly entertaining and stupid end of the sci-fi spectrum.
Dune 2: Prophecy (Max)
Originally titled Sisterhood of Dune, this TV companion to Denis Villeneuve’s big-screen Dune films has been through a rocky development process over the past few years. The series is set 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert’s Dune. It explores the origins of the novels’ fabled superhuman sisterhood, the Bene Gesserit.
The series is co-produced by Frank Herbert’s son Brian, and granddaughter Kim, alongside experienced TV writer Alison Schapker (Fringe, Lost, Westworld). Villeneuve couldn’t direct due to scheduling conflicts but the style of the series is sure to follow the incredible scale and scope of the feature films.
Alien (FX)
The Alien franchise is exploding with new films and series this year but the most promising title is a prequel TV show from writer Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo). The series will be the first Alien story set on Earth, exploring the origins of androids and the mysterious Weyland-Yutani corporation.
How do the titular “aliens” get into the story? Who knows, but Hawley has proved himself to a surprising and creative writer so this is certainly going to be the most interesting entry into the franchise we’ve seen in a long time.
The End (Final Cut For Real)
This is the weirdest film to be made in years. It is the first fiction film from renowned documentary filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer, best known for his devastating masterpiece The Act of Killing. It is also a musical starring Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon.
What is this film about? All we know is it features the richest family in the world who have been living in a bunker for the last 20 years after the world ended. Did we mention this is a musical?