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8 Upcoming Science Fiction Films That Deserve Your Attention

It’s no secret that Hollywood’s reserve of fresh, innovative ideas is beginning to peter out. Like a booming coal mine during the industrial revolution, the once abundant minerals have been exhausted and all that remain are fragmented film scripts that inevitably end up on the infamous Hollywood ‘Black list’ – a collection of unproduced screenplays that reside in development hell for varying reasons, such as a lack of funding from a studio. And so, executive heads search for unique storylines that don’t stray too far from what audiences’ desire.

4) Pacific Rim

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Central Cast: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman
Budget: Estimated to be £123 Million
Release Date: July 12th
Directed By: Guillermo Del Toro

The Pitch: Set in the not-too-distant future, an inter-dimensional portal has ripped open underneath the Pacific Ocean wherein rise gargantuan monstrosities known as the Kaiju. These creatures wage a war against the human race and push civilisation close to extinction, until the construction of giant robots known as Jaegers that – piloted by humans in Avatar-esque fashion – are designed as our last stand against the relentless beasts.

The Verdict: Mechanical titans vs. Horrid creatures from another dimension created by the visionary director that brought us Pan’s Labyrinth. Can we buy tickets now? No, seriously. There’s a plethora of adjectives you could use to describe the scale and immensity of this film, but what makes Pacific Rim my most anticipated science fiction film is its inherent uniqueness. To put it into perspective, it’s only one of two motion pictures on this list that isn’t based on an already established property – be it books, comics, TV shows or graphic novels.

It’s a testimony to Del Toro’s creative muscle, then, that Warner Bros. granted the auteur a big budget to fund his even bigger concept. What’s more, a sequel to Pacific Rim has already been given the go-ahead, so this is a property that exhales confidence. In the midst of all the apocalypse-cancelling action, the advertising campaign has hinted at the rich world Del Toro and his creative team have established. Kaiju skulls are used as temples and even their organs possess healing abilities thereby making them hot property in the film’s black market. All these factors add to the immersive experience and will hopefully allow us to get lost in Del Toro’s vision.

The film took four whole years to get off the ground but, if the limited footage that we’ve witnessed so far is anything to by, the extended wait was more than worth it. Video game fans will cock an ear to the sound of GlaDOS, the AI antagonist from the Portal series, after Del Toro recruited the voice actor to serve on production for Pacific Rim. Yes, it may be a straightforward genre piece in terms of storytelling and the film may favour CGI effects over existential sci-fi themes, even still, Pacific Rim is a film I can’t help but feel excited for.

Hype-O-meter: 10/10

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