(Updated 01/15/2023)
Sci-fi is back! There was a wonderful science fiction boom in the '70s and '80s but the genre wasn't as big for a couple of decades afterward. Science fiction has been enjoying a rebound, however, thanks in part to the advances in filmmaking technology that make it easier to realize sci-fi's ambitions.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER certainly helped spur the genre to new heights. Sci-fi is a huge umbrella that covers everything from thoughtful tales about our place in the universe to fast-paced action adventures full of self-aware robots and cosmic powers.
Here are the new science fiction movies you can watch in movie theaters now, and in the months to come.
In Theatres Now
I.S.S.
Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station (I.S.S.) as a worldwide conflict breaks out on Earth. Reeling, the US and Russian astronauts aboard each receive orders from the ground: take control of the station by any means necessary.
Godzilla Minus One
The mightiest Japanese movie monster returns with a story that takes him back to his wartime nuclear roots. In postwar Japan, a new terror rises; Godzilla. Will the devastated people be able to survive... let alone fight back?
New Sci-Fi Movies Coming to Theatres Soon
That's not all! Some really big science fiction movies are coming to the big screen in the next few months.
Paprika
If you've never seen the movie that clearly inspired Christopher Nolan's INCEPTION, now is your chance! 29-year old Dr. Atsuko Chiba is an attractive but modest research psychotherapist whose work is on the cutting edge of her field. Her alter-ego is a stunning and fearless 18 year old ‘dream detective,’ code named PAPRIKA, who can enter into people’s dreams and synchronize with their unconscious to help uncover the source of their neurosis. At Atsuko’s lab, a powerful new psychotherapy device is poised to revolutionize the world of psychotherapy — but it is powerful enough to allow a user to completely annihilate someone's personality while they are asleep. When a prototype is stolen, Atsuko begins to fear the worst. [February 7 and 8]
Dune 40th Anniversary
The original film version of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction epic, Dune, explodes on the screen with dazzling special effects, unforgettable images, and powerful performances. The saga of intergalactic warrior Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan) and his messianic rise to leadership features an all-star cast, including Jose Ferrer, Max Von Sydow, Linda Hunt and rock legend, Sting. This monumental Dino DeLaurentiis presentation is directed by David Lynch (The Elephant Man, Eraserhead), with photography by Freddie Francis, music by Toto, and incredible monster creation by E.T.'s Carlo Rambaldi. Visit an unbelievable world beyond time and space and experience the ultimate adventure that goes beyond the imagination. Added value includes special bonus footage. [February 18 and 19]
Dune: Part Two
A boy becomes the Messiah of nomads on a desert planet that has giant worms that protect a commodity called Spice. Spice changes people into travelers, mystics and madmen. What price will he pay to become the new ruler of their universe? We pick up right where the 2021 DUNE left off, with Paul Atreides and his mother, the Lady Jessica, being accepted into the native Fremen community as the vicious Harkonnen family gets ready to squeeze the life out of the planet Arrakis. Expect more action and far more intrigue in this second half of filmmaker Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel. Read more about DUNE: PART TWO here. [March 1]
Civil War
An adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razors edge. [April 12]
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike. [May 10]
Furiosa
As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home. [May 24]
Borderlands
Cate Blanchett teams up with Kevin Hart in director Eli Roth’s Borderlands. Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas. Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team – Roland (Hart), a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina, a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg, Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis, the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap, a persistently wiseass robot. These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on the game from Gearbox and 2K, one of the bestselling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands. [August 9]
Alien: Romulus
We know next to nothing about the plot of the new ALIEN movie at this point, but it is said to be a standalone story that takes place between 1979's ALIEN and 1986's ALIENS. Since EVIL DEAD remake director Fede Alvarez is behind the camera, expect to see a movie that goes hard with the horror aspects of the Xenomorph saga. [August 16]
Distant
Not everyone who goes to space gets the glory. Some are just blue-collar guys like Andy Ramirez (Anthony Ramos), who hasn't trained for days like this. A low-level mining engineer, Andy was aboard a transport ship that was struck by an asteroid, crash-landing him on an unknown alien planet. With his oxygen running low and his AI survival suit (voiced by Zachary Quinto) not helping, Andy's only chance to get out of this alive is to find another survivor. When he connects via radio to a fellow crew member, Naomi (Naomi Scott), Andy thinks his prayers are answered. That is, until he finds out Naomi is trapped inside her escape pod and he may not have enough oxygen to make it to her. Not to mention, alien creatures, Andy has yet to realize, will be stalking him every step of the way. [2024 Release Date TBD]
Mickey 17
The new movie from Oscar-winning writer/director/producer Bong Joon Ho is based on the novel "Mickey 7," by Edward Ashton. Robert Pattinson stars as a disposable employee sent to colonize an icy planet. If he dies on the way, no big deal — a new "Mickey" can be regenerated with his memories intact. Most of them, anyway. What could go wrong? [2024 Release Date TBD]
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All images courtesy of 20th Century Studios.