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The 16 Most Anticipated Science Fiction Movies of 2017


2016 was a pretty great year for sci-fi films. Whether you geeked out over a new Star Wars standalone or lost your head (and maybe an arm) over Deadpool, the offerings were fantastic. But 2017? 2017! Looks like it’s going to Death Star last year like Alderaan!

What’s in store, you ask? Well, it will be a year of old friends and new, sequels, prequels, time travel, replicants, Legos, live-action Manga, a lot of apes and a wisecracking raccoon. And if the gossip, sneak peeks, and official trailers are any indication, we’re in for a 12 month-long nerdgasm!

There’s a whole lot coming to a theater near you, so let’s take a closer look at the 16 most anticipated sci-fi films of 2017!

  1. War for the Planet of the Apes – July 14

    While the plot has been a closely held secret, there are some things that we do know about the third installment of the series. The story takes place two years after the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the war continues to rage due to the actions of Koba at the end of that film. In short, the humans are pissed and, led by a colonel (Woody Harrelson) bent on revenge, take the battle to the woods where the apes and Caesar have since retreated.

    The action sequences look amazing and there’s no doubt that this a war movie, but the film also seems to explore the horrors and costs of war and the soul-searching involved in continuing the fight. Caesar and the Colonel both wrestle with their darkness and guilt even as they march toward the inevitable battle for the fate of the planet that looms before them.

  2. Power Rangers – March 24

    OK. This could either be the stinker of the year or a really pleasant surprise. Will it take itself seriously or will it go the Starship Troopers route and have some fun with a series that was essentially a spandex-clad aerobicize video? That remains to be seen, although abandoning the campy aspects of the show means abandoning the show entirely.

    But it’s clear that this isn’t the Power Rangers of our youth. While the Rangers themselves are portrayed by relative unknowns, their mentor, Zordon, and archenemy, Rita Repulsa, are played by none other than Brian Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games), respectively. That’s quite an upgrade. And the Zords that used to look like toys (because they were), now look like some badass dangermobiles. And Bill Heder voices Alpha 5!

    So, the film looks like it has the right ingredients to be a fun, action-packed reboot. And as long as the Rangers still yell everything they’re going to do before they do it, we should have a Dino Morpher Blast!

  3. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets – July 21

    If there’s one thing you can say about Luc Besson, it’s that the man can create some seriously cool worlds populated with outrageous characters. Who wouldn’t want to live in that guy’s head for a day? And this film – based on the 70s French graphic novel Valérian and Laureline – looks to have a perfect storyline for a spectacular return to form for a visionary director.

    Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and his partner Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are space and time travelling agents whose mission it is to stop would-be time bandits from corrupting the universe with temporal paradoxes. Valerian is a by-the-book kind of agent, while Laureline seems the more the savvy, loose cannon type. Between them, they make collars and more than a few sparks.

    Along the way, they encounter many alien worlds and species – including a pretty amazing-looking Rihanna as her pretty amazing-looking self  – and that kind of strange variety fits snugly in Besson’s wonderful bag of weird.

  4. The Dark Tower – July 28

    Let’s start with the fact that this is a Stephen King supernatural western set in a parallel timeline in Mid-World. OK, you had us at, “Hello.” Now let's explore what we know.

    The film follows two men on the same mission: to reach the Dark Tower. One is Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), the “last gunslinger” who, with the help of a young boy (Tom Taylor), seeks the tower to save his crumbling world. The other is The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), a sorcerer who wants to use the tower to rule over all worlds. The race is on. Sounds pretty straight forward – and the first book in King’s seven-book series is just that – but since the film draws on multiple books and characters there's no telling how complicated things could get.

    At any rate, it sounds like good old-fashioned, dusty fun. Plus, we won’t have to wait forever in between movies because the trilogy of big screen releases will have an accompanying television series to bridge the gaps.

  5. Ghost in the Shell – March 31

    Controversial since its announcement, this live action adaptation of the wildly popular Manga/Anime property promises to be one of the more scrutinized releases of 2017. On the surface, the project sounds like a no-brainer, but accusations of “whitewashing” with the casting of Scarlett Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanaki (oops), some shot-for-shot theft of scenes from the anime version, and worries about the “Hollywood treatment” of the source material’s dark subject matter have all plagued the production. Here’s what’s what.

    For those not familiar, the story centers around Major – a human-cyborg hybrid with the body of a machine and the mind and soul of a human (hence, the title) – who heads up intelligence Section 9. Patrolling the city for goons and cyberterrorists, Section 9 runs up against hacker/terrorist/haircut Kuze (Michael Pitt) who seeks to wipe out all cybertech advances. Matrix-style gun battles ensue, bullets fly, lots of slo-mo shots of glass breaking, etc. But, according to producer Avi Arad, the story isn't just mindless action, but will also touch on Major’s personal connection to Kuze (kinda via her origin story) and feature how she deals with her binary existence – her memories, emotions and the fragility of self versus her artificial outer shell.

    Manga folks are notoriously demanding when it comes to accuracy and detail, so this one could be a tough sell for some.

  6. Kong: Skull Island – March 10

    This is not just another retelling of the old story about a giant lovelorn ape that really needs to stop stalking women and instead takes place on an angry Kong’s home island turf. Meant to be a set-up of sorts for Godzilla V. Kong in 2020, the film focuses on a research expedition to the island in the 1970’s. Tom Hiddleston plays James Conrad – an elite hunter-tracker who served in the British SAS – who was apparently recruited by the super-secret scientific organization, Monarch (as seen in 2014’s Godzilla), and the US government to explore the island for humongous temperamental primates. With him on his search are a peacenik war photographer (Brie Larson), a badass colonel (Samuel L. Jackson), a contingent of soldiers and an oily government flack (John Goodman).

    But HOW they search causes a real problem: They drop small bombs to map the surface under the jungle canopy. Even in the 70s, that's not a good move and it doesn’t sit well with Kong or any of the other magnificently deadly creatures on the island. They fight back with a vengeance, making finding “proof that monsters exist” really easy. But surviving? Not so much.

    The film has a real Apocalypse Now vibe to it, complete with Huey helicopters, “Bad Moon Rising” playing in the trailer and John C. Riley as what looks like a former soldier who walked away from the war (Think Kurtz, but with gallows humor). Heck, even Hiddleston’s character, Conrad, evokes the novel that Apocalypse Now was based upon, “Heart of Darkness.”

  7. Thor: Ragnarok – November 3

    In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a future final battle between the gods that results in the destruction and rebirth of the world and the death of Odin, Thor and Loki. So… this is going to be epic! We doubt all of that’s going to happen, but we do love Thor in Space. So, here’s what to expect.

    With the help of Hela (Cate Blanchett), Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has managed to usurp the throne and vows to destroy the Nine Realms of Ragnarok. Well, Thor can’t let that stand, so he enlists the help of Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) to find the Soul Gem and save the realms. There’s trickery, betrayal, hammer time, a Thanos sighting, an Odin sighting, no Infinity Stones and a final battle for all the marbles in Asgard. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Not so fast, our codpiece-loving friends,

    Director Taika Waititi says about the film: “It’s what it needs to be. Specially to live up to a name like Ragnarok, you know? If we’re gonna do Ragnarok, we gotta do it properly. We just gotta throw it all in there.”

    Now, that sounds like an excellent plan.

  8. Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 7

    Does the world really need another Spider-Man reboot? What is this? Number 43? Well, after the web-slinger’s electrifying appearance in Captain America: Civil War, the answer to that is a resounding, “Yes, please.” We dig that he’s a spindly geek teenager with a motormouth who has no real clue what he’s doing yet. It's cool that he's still impressed by his own powers as he discovers them. We just love this Spider-Man. That’s how it should be! All is right with the world.

    In the film, Tom Holland returns to cast his webs and witticisms as he protects his city and all that he loves from the highly-underrated villain (and apparently, full-on metallic), Vulture (Michael Keaton). What the Vulture wants, we don’t know, but Keaton really can’t seem to pass up a bird suit. So, there’s that. Along the way, Peter Parker’s high school hormones rage, he must hide his identity from his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) and he receives superhero wisdom and guidance from the always even-tempered and predictable Tony Stark. What could possibly go wrong?

    Probably a lot. Prepare for a wild ride.

  9. Logan – March 3

    OK. Who wasn’t moved by the trailer with Johnny Cash singing his version of “Hurt?” If you weren’t, you have no soul. It’s perfect for an aging Logan, deep in the bottle and breaking down physically. Plus, director James Mangold clearly knows his Man in Black since he directed the Cash biopic Walk the Line.

    This is apparently Hugh Jackman’s last dance as Wolverine and the script for this bon voyage is loosely based on the gory and violent “Old Man Logan” books (um… he cuts his way out of Hulk’s stomach in those, kids). Whether the film will live up to that spatter level has yet to be determined, but the trailer and its R-rating does indicate that could get quite stabby. And stabby is good.

    The year is 2024 and Patrick Stewart is back as Charles Xavier who, despite being quite frail, still drops the pearls of wisdom and encourages Logan to – with the help of mutant tracker Caliban (Stephen Merchant) – protect and mentor a young girl (Dafne Keen) who is “very much like” him, alone and on the run from those who created her. “Very much like” is an understatement, since the girl in question is X-23 who was cloned from Logan’s DNA by the Weapon X program. Sounds like it could be a sweet, touchy-feely story, right? It no doubt is in certain places. But when fanatical mutant hunter Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and his homicidal band of Reavers are thrown into the mix, things go from touchy-feely to slicey-dicey real quick. Things are gonna get beautifully ugly.

  10. Wonder Woman – June 2

    This is it. It's here. The long-awaited big screen debut of Wonder Woman in a stand-alone film. Has there ever been so much pressure on a movie to be not just good, but great? One of the sole bright spots in BvS, Gal Gadot’s Amazon princess was a spot-on badass! Now, she carries the mantle of women everywhere to deliver the first DCEU female superhero property. We think she’s more than up to it and here’s the scoop.

    American WWI pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes off the coast of Themyscira – home of the Amazons – and is rescued by Diana. After some exposition about man’s inhumanity to man and a conversation with mom, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), Diana agrees to help Trevor defeat the Germans and their snappy uniforms. From the look of the trailer, the fights and battlefield scenes are intense, muddy and bloody, and include a sprint under heavy fire by Wonder Woman across “No-Man’s Land.” Could there be a more brilliant metaphor?

    The official DC synopsis says that in “(f)ighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers... and her true destiny." True destiny? Could that mean she’ll cross swords not only with the Germans, but with her arch-nemeses Ares and Circe along the way? We’ll have to wait until summer to find out.

  11. Alien: Covenant – May 19

    While Prometheus made a solid effort to establish the foundations of the 1979 classic, Alien, it failed to deliver enough continuity to be very satisfying for fans of the franchise. In this chapter of the trilogy, director Ridley Scott promises a deeper connection to the seminal work, complete with skittering face-suckers, creepy organic egg fields and the xenomorphs themselves – and the trailer kinda backs him up. In the film, the crew of the ship Covenant is wheeling its way to the far side of the galaxy when they discover an Eden-like planet. Sounds sweet, until android David (now with a body and not just a head) shows up and just makes things weird. It gets weirder when it turns out android David’s much-less-touchy-feely-twin, Walter, works on the Covenant. Then, it gets scary weird when the crew discovers that the planet is filled with dome-heads that want to tongue-punch their faces. There’s definitely gonna be some spilled popcorn during this one.

    Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace reprise their roles, a delightfully Ripley-esque Katherine Waterston plays a terraforming expert named Daniels, Billy Crudup captains the ship, the hilarious Danny McBride pilots it, and even James Franco shows up because he’s somehow in everything. 

  12. Justice League – November 17

    Who in the hell wants to see a movie with Aquam… oh, wait… is that an angry Jason Momoa wearing a full-on reindeer and then snapping off a swig of of some King Tide hooch while shirtless in a blizzard? That’s what I thought. Where do I stand in line?

    Well, if the trailer and the press are any indications, this film looks like it will be a major course correction from the overwrought and joyless Batman v. Superman and might even feature an occasional joke (because Batfleck can’t always look like his puppy just died – it ruins the brand). That's promising.

    What’s it about? It turns out Darkseid has a jones for the cosmic power of Mother Boxes, so he dispatches Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and a compliment of Parademons to rip them from the protective hands of the Atlanteans and Amazonians. Cue Batman, who decides sunlight isn’t so bad (it’s an all-new B) and that he needs to form a team of superheroes to put the kibosh on the box theft. And these boxes must be wicked important, because Superman even comes back from the dead (or a 1990’s Nine Inch Nails video) to join the team!

    In addition to Momoa and Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot returns as Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller is the Flash (sorry, Grant Gustin fans), Henry Cavill is back as Superman, Ray Fisher is Cyborg and Jesse Eisenberg pokes his bald head out a Lex Luthor. Plus, it’ll be cool to see Willen Dafoe not throwing pumpkins and instead appears as Nuidis Vulko, Aquaman’s mentor.

  13. The Lego Batman Movie – February 10

    A few short years ago, the very thought of making a movie based on sharp pieces of plastic that explode your brain into searing clouds of black-out pain when you step on them, seemed ridiculous. But, 470 million box office dollars later, everything is awesome and there's a new superhero spin-off of The Lego Movie in the form of the Caped Crusader himself, as he and his friends defend Legotham from all things sinister!

    As far as the story goes, it appears that Batman is going through an existential crisis, but as he fights against the Joker and his condiment-squirting henchmen, he finally connects the blocks and discovers that a solitary life, while it can be successful, isn’t so fulfilling if you can’t share it with family. It’s a nice message and even better when delivered with butt jokes and double entendre.

    Penned by Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter) and directed by Chris McKay (Robot Chicken), the movie has a pretty great chance of being as close to the edge as a “kids’ movie” can be. It also promises to be quite funny – for kids and adults –  with Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman, Michael Cera as a pants-ripping Robin, Zach Galifianakis as the Joker and Rosario “Super Nerd” Dawson as Batgirl.

  14. Blade Runner 2049 – October 6

    Well, Ridley Scott isn't directing this long-awaited sequel to his revolutionary neo-noir classic, but his fingerprints will be all over it as executive producer. Instead, the task of following Scott’s hard act has been left in the capable hands of original co-screenwriter Hampton Fancher, Arrival and Sicario director Denis Villeneuve and legendary DP Roger Deakins.

    Details are still a bit sketch, but Villeneuve has revealed that the story again unfolds in the dystopian paradise known as Los Angeles – thirty years after the original – but the climate has “gone berserk” and rain and snow have actually become toxic. In the film, Ryan Gosling plays LAPD Officer K, a blade runner who has stumbled upon a secret so damaging that it could destroy what’s left of society. For help, he seeks out former runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role) who, if the trailer is to believed, has opened a quaint B&B under a sand dune. Thankfully, there’s no chance of this becoming a buddy cop movie as Ford doesn’t appear until the third act. Other aspects of the film are still under wraps, but we do know that Mackenzie Davis, Robin Wright and Jared Leto (not as the Joker) are on board.

    So, that brings us to the real question? Is Deckard a replicant or not? That’s a question we needn’t worry our pretty little heads about as Villeneuve, in an interview with the French film site AlloCiné, said that the movie will only add to that mystery, not solve it.

  15. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – May 5

    Star-Lord and his rag-tag band of misfits and hooligans return for more galactic mayhem and killer tunes in this sequel to the original. So, what happens? Well, we know the soundtrack will be kick-ass, but other details are firming up and here’s the story so far.

    It appears that Star-Lord, while working on his burgeoning romance with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), will awkwardly confront his father, Ego, who happens to be a living planet with a face that looks an awful lot like Kurt Russell. But that’s not all! The crew – with new additions Yondu (Michael Rooker), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) – will also lock a variety of horns with Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), the genetically perfect, super-badass creation of the Enclave and counterpart to “Godslayer” Adam Warlock. And while all of this is going on, Infinity Stones are mentioned and Thanos is (rightly) badmouthed again, Taserface (Chris Sullivan) and the bounty hunter Tullk (Tommy Flanagan) show up, Groot stays tiny and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) stays permanently pissed! So, do you think that’s enough new stuff for one movie? We didn’t either. Enter Sylvester Stallone as an elder! Stallone AND Russell together again? We can only hope that this leads to a Tango & Cash sequel (please, please, please)… and another great soundtrack! 

  16. Star Wars: Episode VIII – December 15

    Is it crazy to already be this worked up over a movie that isn’t coming out for a year? Not if it’s a Star Wars movie and not if it forces us into uncharted territory! Episode VIII picks up right where Episode VII left off, so that means the usual time jumping between films isn’t happening. Good thing, too. The Force Awakens left a lot of unanswered questions all on its own. Who are Rey’s parents? Is Kylo Ren still pouting? Where has Luke been all these years and what’s up with that beard? We don’t have all the answers, but here’s what we know.

    We hope the Force is with him, because it’ll be up to director and screenwriter Rian Johnson (who takes the helm from J.J. Abrams, who stays on as producer) to answer those pesky questions and further the story, and leaks about his script say it’s a real ripper. Johnson, known best for his action-fi-time-warping film, Looper, has said that the series going forward will leave no history behind and will take into consideration the ENTIRE Star Wars legacy. In fact, he recently took to Twitter to defend the prequels as “a 7 hour long kids’ movie about how fear and loss turns good people into fascists.” That’s nothing if not a fantastic start. What’s next? Well, the original cast is back with some sweet additions in Benicio del Toro and Laura Dern; Luke and Leia will get significantly more screen time; new secrets about the Force will be revealed; Kylo Ren and Snoke stay creepy and super-obsessed and Anakin Skywalker MIGHT make an appearance.

    That’s what we know. Now, here’s what we hope. That the movie lives up to the hype, not only for us, but so it serves as a fitting farewell to Carrie Fisher's embodiment of one of the greatest sci-fi characters of all-time: Leia Organa.

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