Last updated April 18, 2018 at 9:41 am
Welcome to 2018 and welcome to a whole new year in science fiction. Here’s what to look forward to for the first half of the year.
The Shape of Water (January)
Human-like but utterly alien creature? Check. Spooky laboratory? Check. Mad scientist? Check. It’s not clear from the trailer, but this movie is apparently an incredibly touching love story between a woman and a fish-man
Black Panther (February)
We met T’Challa and his superhero alter ego Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, and now we’re about to meet the whole kingdom of Wakanda. Afrofuturism is a hugely underrated genre within science fiction so I can’t wait to see it, and some incredibly cool tech, on the big screen.
Ready Player One (March)
Based on the book of the same name, Ready Player One is retrofuturism at its most extreme. Set in 2044, it blends the potential futures of virtual reality, gaming, and the entire internet.
Annihilation (February TBC)
Natalie Portman plays a biologist and is married to Oscar Isaac in this movie and I am here for it! Alas, their separation drives the plot forward, all the way to spooky other worlds, intensely fantastical creatures, and badass teams of women.
Jurassic world: Fallen Kingdom (June)
Moar dinosaurs! Plus my favourite – volcanoes! Plus PLUS Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is back! While the basic ‘run away from dinosaurs’ structure is still at front and centre, at least it looks like this version ditches the ‘we’re in control’ starting point.
Ant man and the Wasp (July)
Ant-man is a two-for-one science fiction chuckle fest. You don’t just get the scientific gadgetry that makes Scott Lang (and, in the new film, Hope Van Dyne) tiny, you get the quantum realm as well. I’m definitely not saying that the way Ant-man treats quantum physics bears much resemblance to actual quantum physics, but it’s fun that they’re using it for inspiration.
The Gateway (March)
Here’s to an Australian female particle physicist to the big screen! Mourning her late husband, she uses ‘science’ to bring him back to life. There are some fun science-y looking bells and whistles in this trailer, and its always cool to see what local creatives do with genre.
Need a sci fi fix to get you through until these releases? Check out our best of 2017 list here.
