The Sci-Fi is Coming! (What's Ahead in Films)

After going to see John Carter last weekend (which I thoroughly enjoyed), I was excited that every single movie trailer shown in advance of the main feature was Sci-Fi! That may be a planned move on Hollywood's part--dangling a promotional carrot in front of a captive audience of SF-inclined, as it were. But nonetheless, I think we're in for some fabulous Sci-Fi this spring and summer.

Here's a run down on two trailers that caught my eye and a must-see third I heard about via Triberr.

Battleship

An intense Naval "battle for Earth" Sci-Fi (Battle Los Angeles meets Titanic), the film stars Taylor Kitch (who also played the lead in John Carter) and also features Liam Neesan and music star Rihanna in her debut role. The movie was inspired by Hasbro's Naval combat game.

This is yet another alien invasion story, this time with the aliens hiding in and attacking from the sea. Lots of heavy weaponry and impressive sci-fi special effects, things blowing up, and main characters at risk, it appears to have spent a good portion of its $200 million budget on eye-popping visuals. Opens in May 2012. You can read more on the ScienceFiction.com site This one goes on my "will see" list, but probably not opening weekend, which will no doubt be a madhouse.

Here's the trailer from the official Battleship web site.

Lockout

This one may be a bit too Chuck Norris meets Alcatraz meets Apollo 13 for my taste, but it does have some intriguing visual affects. Here's the basic premise:

The daughter of a future president goes to an orbiting prison colony--Maximum Security One--on a goodwill mission and is taken hostage when a prison riot ensues. Snow, a shady, rogue federal agent (played by Guy Pearce) is sent to rescue her--but who really sent him and what's his true mission? The suspense ramps up a hundred fold when the rescue mission turns global catastrophe as the prison colony is knocked out of orbit and begins falling to Earth. Release date April 13, 2012.

io9 has already offered a run-down on this new Sci-Fi. Check out the article and trailer here.

Prometheus

I heard about Prometheus thanks to fellow Triberrmate Pissed Off Geek, and since watching the trailer, I've been wondering if I've had my head buried under a rock.

An Alien prequel? Coming in June? With Charlize Theron? And I didn't know about it? Inconceivable!

Please click over to read POG's original post and take a look at the stunning trailer.

This film is clearly labeled as related to, but not actually part of, the original series, and seems to take on an even darker and edgier spin. If you viewed the trailer, you saw some very familiar images, but also some new elements. This film is set before the original Alien/Aliens series and promises to introduce a whole new twist to the storyline.

What's past is prologue, but what a punch this prologue may be packing. I'll definitely be in a theatre for the US premier on June 8th!

If you'd like to know more about the actors, plot and development, check out the Wikipedia page for Prometheus (film). Here's the premise from that page:

"In the late 21st Century, a star map is discovered within the imagery of Aztec, Mesopotamian and Magdalenian culture. The crew of the spaceship Prometheus is sent on a scientific expedition to follow the map as part of a mission to find the origins of mankind. Exploring the advanced civilization of an extraterrestrial race, they soon discover a threat to humanity's very existence."

That wraps my rundown of three that might be worth seeing. What do you think? Have you heard of other upcoming SF films that you want to see?  Let us know in comments.

~~*~~