Science Fiction: 316

Annihilation (2018), a science fiction psychological horror film by Alex Garland, is loosely based on Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 novel of the same name. After losing her husband, a biologist volunteers for an expedition to an environmental disaster zone, only to discover that it holds more than she bargained for. The team includes an anthropologist, psychologist, surveyor, and linguist. Despite it being a year since his last secret mission, the brave soldier Kane has yet to be found and is believed to have perished in action. As Lena, ...

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) is an American space Western film that revolves around Han Solo, a character from the Star Wars franchise. It is part of the Star Wars anthology series and is preceded by Rogue One (2016). The story begins on the planet Corellia, where orphans Han and Qi’ra escape a local gang. In order to secure their passage on a transport, they bribe an Imperial officer with stolen coaxium, a type of starship fuel. Unfortunately, Qi’ra is captured before she can board. Determined to rescue her, Han joins the Imperial Navy as a flight cadet and adopts the surname ‘Solo’. After being expelled from the ...

The American techno-thriller film, The Circle (2017), was directed by James Ponsoldt with a screenplay written by both Ponsoldt and Dave Eggers. It was based on Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name. Through her friend Annie, Mae Holland secures a customer support position at The Circle, a tech and social media company. Mae takes the job to support her parents, particularly her father who suffers from multiple sclerosis. However, her longtime friend Mercer is not as ...

Creating a new world of possibilities, Downsizing (2017) is an American science fiction comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne and written by both Payne and Jim Taylor. This revolutionary medical procedure, known as Downsizing, offers an environmentally-friendly option for those seeking economic benefits. When Paul, an occupational therapist with a kind heart, decides to undergo the procedure and enter into this brand-new existence, he faces a choice between living a sheltered life or using his small stature to make ...

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) is a space opera film written and directed by Luc Besson, with production by Virginie Besson-Silla, his wife. Based on a beloved comic book series, this new adventure movie has been a source of inspiration for generations of artists, writers, and filmmakers. Set in the twenty-eighth century, Major Valerian and Sergeant Laureline are a formidable duo tasked with maintaining order in the human territories. Ordered by Defense Minister Herbie Hancock, they embark on a mission to Alpha – an ever-expanding metropolis ...

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) is an American sci-fi action film, directed by Matt Reeves and co-written with Mark Bomback. It depicts a full-on conflict between apes and humans, where Caesar embarks on a mission to seek justice for his fallen comrades. The story takes place two years after Koba, an aggressive bonobo, attacked human survivors in San Francisco. Now, Caesar and his tribe of intelligent apes are pitted against Alpha-Omega, a rebellious military group helmed by a merciless colonel. This faction also enlists other apes formerly loyal to Koba, mockingly ...

Dark (2017–2020), a German science fiction thriller created by Baran bo Odar, follows the mysterious disappearances of children in the town of Winden. As the story unfolds, we learn about the broken relationships, hidden identities, and unsettling pasts of four families intertwined in this small community. The show explores these themes across multiple generations, with its time-traveling plot taking us back to 1986 and 1953. When members of the central families discover a wormhole beneath the local nuclear power plant, they are forced to confront long-buried secrets. Through revelations about the Kahnwald, Nielsen, ...

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) is a sci-fi action movie adapted from the popular toy line by Hasbro. In the year 484 AD, after coming across the Knights of Iacon, a group of hidden Transformers on Earth, Merlin seeks their assistance to aid King Arthur and his knights. With their help and armed with a staff, Arthur defeats the Saxons. However, Merlin is cautioned to keep the staff hidden. In present day, five years after the devastation in Hong Kong, Optimus Prime lands on Cybertron’s ruins and crosses paths with Quintessa, a deranged Cybertronian goddess who manipulates him into becoming Nemesis Prime and sends him back to Earth to retrieve Merlin’s ...

Blade Runner 2049 (2017), a neo-noir sci-fi masterpiece from 2017, was directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. It takes place in a world approximately two decades after the downfall of the Tyrell Corporation, the original creators and manufacturers of replicants – bioengineered superhumans. The collapse of natural ecosystems prompted industrialist Niander Wallace to develop a new generation of replicants for synthetic farming, effectively saving the planet. While the earlier ...

Counterpart (2017–2019) is a science fiction thriller TV show featuring J.K. Simmons, created by Justin Marks and initially aired on the Starz network. Across two seasons totaling 20 episodes, viewers follow the story of Howard Silk, a quiet and meek employee at the Berlin-based Office of Interchange (OI). Despite his three decades with the United Nations agency, his low position prevents him from understanding his role in exchanging seemingly nonsensical messages. The OI oversees a checkpoint between parallel Earths (known as ‘Alpha’ and ‘Prime’) ...

Directed, cowritten, and coproduced by Dean Devlin, Geostorm (2017) is an American science-fiction disaster film that centers around a system of climate-controlling satellites called ‘Dutch Boy’. In 2019, an international coalition commissions the satellites following a series of devastating natural disasters. After successfully neutralizing a typhoon in Shanghai, chief architect Jake Lawson is reprimanded by a Senate sub-committee for acting without authorization. He is replaced by his brother Max, who works alongside Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom. Three years later, while stationed in the Registan ...

Kong: Skull Island (2017), directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, is an American monster film produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It serves as a reboot of the King Kong franchise and the second installment in the MonsterVers. In 1944, two World War II fighter pilots – American Hank Marlow and Japanese Gunpei Ikari – parachute onto an island in the South Pacific after a dogfight. However, their close combat is interrupted by a giant ape. Almost three decades later, U.S. government agent Bill Randa recruits former British Special Air Service Captain James Conrad ...

Created by Bryan Fuller and Alex Kurtzman for the streaming service CBS All Access (now known as Paramount+), Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2024) is the seventh installment in the Star Trek franchise. The series premiered in 2017, following the crew of the starship Discovery during the 23rd century, a decade before Star Trek: The Original Series. In subsequent seasons, they travel to the 32nd century in a new setting. The first season aired on CBS and CBS All Access beginning on September 24, 2017, with weekly releases until February 2018. The second and ...

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) is the second part of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, written and directed by Rian Johnson. It is the eighth episode in the Skywalker saga, following The Force Awakens (2015). General Leia Organa leads the Resistance forces in evacuating their base after the battle of Starkiller Base. Despite her orders, Poe Dameron initiates a costly counterattack that destroys a First Order dreadnought. The Resistance escapes into hyperspace, but the First Order has a tracking device and attacks again. Kylo Ren hesitates to fire on the lead ship upon sensing ...

Allegiant (2016) is the third and final film in The Divergent Series, directed by Robert Schwentke and written by Bill Collage, Adam Cooper, and Noah Oppenheim. In this American dystopian science fiction action film, Evelyn takes charge of Chicago and puts Jeanine’s followers on trial for their actions. Johanna disagrees with this approach and is joined by many new Allegiants. Tris, Four, Caleb, Tori, Christina, and Peter escape over the wall while being ...

11.22.63 (2016) is a science fiction thriller miniseries based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, consisting of eight episodes. It follows Jake Epping, an English teacher from Maine who is given the opportunity by his friend Al Templeton to travel back in time to 1960. Jake is initially hesitant but eventually agrees in hopes of preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. However, as he settles into life in the past, he becomes torn between his mission and the new relationships he forms. To gather information without raising suspicion, he must carefully navigate through events and ...

An American TV sci-fi drama series, Incorporated (2016–2017), first aired on November 30, 2016, on Syfy. Prior to its official premiere, a sneak peek of the debut episode was released online by Syfy on November 16, 2016. Set in a dystopian version of Milwaukee in 2074, the show portrays a world where various crises and climate change have caused many countries to go bankrupt. In place of functioning governments, huge multinational corporations now act as de facto rulers in designated areas known as Green Zones. The remaining regions are referred to as Red Zones, with little or no governing authority. Ben Larson, a manager at Spiga ...

Westworld (2016–2022) is an American dystopian science fiction Western TV show created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy that premiered on HBO on October 2, 2016. It is based on the 1973 film by Michael Crichton with the same title. In the year 2050, Delos Inc. manages a number of theme parks, including Westworld, which simulates the American Old West. The park is populated by biomechanical robots known as ‘Hosts’ who are virtually indistinguishable from humans. These Hosts are designed to fulfill every wish of the ...

Based on the 1998 short story Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang, Arrival (2016) is an American science fiction drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve and adapted by Eric Heisserer. Linguist Louise Banks’s twelve-year-old daughter Hannah dies from an incurable illness, as twelve extraterrestrial spacecraft appear over different locations on Earth. Amidst widespread panic, various nations send military and scientific experts to investigate. In the United States, US Army Colonel Weber enlists Banks and physicist ...

Passengers (2016) is an American science-fiction romance film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Jon Spaihts. The spaceship Avalon, carrying 5,000 colonists and 258 crew members in hibernation pods, embarks on a 120-year voyage from Earth to the planet Homestead II as part of a mass exodus due to environmental destruction. However, after only three decades, an asteroid collision causes damage to the ship’s defenses and results in mechanical engineer Jim Preston awakening ninety years too soon. Alone except for the android bartender Arthur, Jim becomes ...