2021 will include a number of long-awaited sci-fi sequels, in addition to some intriguing genre mashups and a handful of fresh adaptations with franchise potential. Even as superhero movies and Star Wars films (which usually, but not always, skew towards the fantasy end of the sci-fi fantasy spectrum) have dominated at the box office in recent years, full-throttle science-fiction has continued to maintain a foothold in theaters. Most notably, adaptations like The Martian and Arrival were both commercial successes that went on to land multiple Oscar nominations (plus a win for Arrival), including Best Picture.
Elsewhere, smaller hits like Ex Machina beat out much-bigger titles to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects a few years back, and even films like Blade Runner 2049 and Annihilation made up for their disappointing box office runs by earning loads of critical acclaim (plus a couple Oscar victories for the Blade Runner sequel). Auteurs like Denis Villeneuve and Christopher Nolan has since gone to tackle – literally – bigger projects following their previous success in the genre, in an effort to keep the art of spectacle-heavy, yet cerebral, sci-fi movies alive and well.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a handful of sci-fi genre mashups slated for 2020 have since been pushed back to 2021. Meanwhile, some of the biggest sci-fi sequels scheduled for the latter year may end up being postponed to 2022 due to their productions being delayed by the virus. Keeping that in mind, here’s every sci-fi movie currently set to arrive in 2021.
Chaos Walking – January 22
Although it gets it name from Patrick Ness’ YA sci-fi book series, Chaos Walking is based on the author’s first entry, The Knife of Never Letting Go. Set in a dystopian future where a germ has (supposedly) wiped out all women and the survivors have gained the special ability of Noise (allowing them to hear other people and animals’ thoughts), the film stars Tom Holland as a teen boy who encounters a mysterious woman (Daisy Ridley) and soon uncovers the truth about his world. Production took place in 2017 with Doug Liman directing, but the movie has since been delayed nearly two years from it original date after reshoots were ordered, then postponed due to Holland and Ridley’s busy schedules.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife – March 5
Initially scheduled for the summer of 2020, director Jason Reitman’s sequel to his father Ivan’s Ghostbusters movies is among the films Sony delayed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 outbreak. While people might not necessarily think of the Ghostbusters movies as sci-fi, they’ve always grounded their paranormal elements in fictional science and parapsychology, and that will remain the case with Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Plot-wise, the sequel follows a single mom (Carrie Coon) and her kids (Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard) as they move to a small town and learn the truth about their connection to the original Ghostbusters (with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson reportedly reprising their roles).
Morbius – March 19
Another sci-fi genre mashup originally slated to release in 2020, Sony’s Morbius stars Jared Leto as Michael Morbius, a scientist whose attempts to cure himself of a rare blood disease end up transforming him into a vampiric superhero instead. With Daniel Espinosa (Life) directing, Morbius is expected to blend sci-fi and horror elements in equal measure, even more so than the studio’s previous installment in their Spider-Man comic book antihero universe, Venom. The movie’s trailer has already teased Morbius crossing paths with Michael Keaton’s Vulture from the MCU at some point, so clearly Sony is hoping to build something bigger than a Morbius film franchise.
The Matrix 4 – May 21
After years of rumors about a continuation of The Matrix franchise, Warner Bros. is finally moving forward with The Matrix 4, as co-written and directed by one-half of the Wachwoski siblings, Lana Wachowski. Plot details are being kept under wraps at the moment, but it’s confirmed Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss are back as potentially different incarnations of Neo and Trinity. The pair will be joined by several newcomers to the mind-bending sci-fi property, including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (rumored to be playing a young Morpheus), Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jonathan Groff. Question is, will the film make up for The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions‘ mistakes?
Infinite – May 28
Speaking of The Matrix: this adaptation of D. Eric Maikranz’s novel The Reincarnationist Papers has already been compared to the Wachowskis’ franchise thanks to its mix of heady sci-fi philosophizing and stylized action. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film stars Mark Wahlberg as a man who’s tormented by what he believes are hallucinations, only to learn they’re memories from his past lives and join forces with other “infinites” who teach him how to unlock this knowledge and use it to protect humankind. Paramount originally scheduled Infinite to open in August 2020, but eventually gave it a prime pre-summer 2021 spot after reshuffling its release slate post-coronavirus.
Jurassic World: Dominion – June 11
The way things are shaking up, Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World: Dominion will double as both a conclusion to his Jurassic World trilogy and a finale for the larger sci-fi franchise that began with Jurassic Park in 1993. Original Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum, and Laura Dern are even reprising their iconic roles for Dominion opposite Jurassic World leads Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, along with most of the other actors whose characters made it out of 2018’s Fallen Kingdom alive. Like the title implies, the film is all about humans struggling to maintain their sense of control over the world, with the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar now living freely out in the wild.
Avatar 2 – December 17
At long last, James Cameron’s first of potentially four sequels to his 2009 box office juggernaut Avatar will finally reach theaters (maybe?) at the end of 2021. Story-wise, the film is said to pick up in essentially real-time, with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) having formed a family of Na’vi children when they’re forced to once gain ward off human invaders intent on exploiting Pandora for its resources. In addition to bringing back Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang in their roles from the first movie, Avatar 2 will also introduce several brand-new characters – some human, some not – and explore new locations like the oceans of Pandora.
