SCI-FI NEWS

Video Blog: 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Takes Sci-Fi to the Next Level

"Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise." They're back in action, and J.J. Abrams has taken sci-fi to a whole new level. Early this morning I was one of the first in the United States to attend a screening of Star Trek Into Darkness, J.J.'s highly anticipated sequel to Star Trek from 2009, the reboot of the legendary, seminal sci-fi franchise. For me, this was one of the big moments of the summer, building up excitement and anticipation to finally sitting down and watching over two hours of adventures through space with the crew of the USS Enterprise. Did it live up to my expectations? A big YES.

'Are You the 1701?' Viral Mailers Leading to 3D Trailer Reveal Online

"You've been chosen as one of #THE1701." Following up the Are You the 1701 Trek viral launch last week, prizes have been arriving to fans today. I received a number of emails containing photos and details on packages that fans have received stating they're one of the 1701 winners. Last week a viral site called Are You the 1701? made by Paramount for Star Trek Into Darkness launched requesting Instagrams or Vines of anything Trek or "future" related, with $2 prize packs to be sent to 1701 winners. The packs include an "exclusive" poster, 3D glasses and a note linking to a 3D trailer out at noon tomorrow. Check these out.

First Look: Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham from 'Ender's Game'

Meet the mysterious Mazer Rackham. Where has he been? What do all those tattoos mean? How many buggers has he killed? After seeing photos of Asa as Ender, Hailee as Petra and Harrison Ford as Col. Graff, Summit has finally revealed the first photo of actor Sir Ben Kingsley as the war hero in advance of the trailer debut next week. The image is nothing but a solid shot of Rackham's upper half and head in uniform. This is the first time we get to see the tribal/war tattoos he has on his face, which seems to be the unique route they're taking with crafting this character from page to screen. Those familiar with the book know he's a big mystery until revealed in the second half (and I love his story), but it's great to see this first look now.

Jaeger Bombs Away on Splashy Poster for del Toro's 'Pacific Rim'

Yesterday brought a new Pacific Rim banner with some robot versus monster chaos in Sydney, Australia, and now a new one sheet assembles multiple Jaeger robots in the ocean, ready for some sort of big battle. The most recent bit of footage showed off more of the operators inside of these giant machines, and it's clear a lot of though went into the actual mechanics behind these giants so the drivers are not just Power Rangers getting shook around in front of a DJ console. Again, if you're seeing promos for the film and you think this is just Transformers fighting monsters, this is a Guillermo del Toro project, so give the guy some credit.

Klingons Finally Unmasked in New 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Promos

We've already seen a couple promos for Star Trek Into Darkness featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as villain John Harrison, dissecting the characters of James T. Kirk and Spock, and now it's time for someone else to get the spotlight. This time it's Uhura (Zoe Saldana) under Harrison's microscope, but there's more than just menacing voiceover. There's also a brief appearance of Klingons. And while we've seen some images of them with their masks/helmets, this is the first time we see them without obstruction. It remains to be seen if the ridges will vary character to character like the TV series or if all the Klingons have similar facial features. Either way, the promo and two new TV spots are just fuel for our excitement. Watch below!

First Trailer for Gavin Hood's 'Ender's Game' Will Be Online May 7th

Briefly: Remember - the enemy's gate is down. It has been confirmed that the first trailer, which blew me away at CinemaCon, for Gavin Hood's Ender's Game movie will be arriving online next Tuesday, May 7th. The countdown has begun on their Facebook page, where the message states: "In 7 days, see the first Ender's Game trailer on Google and YouTube." We'll definitely be here to debut it the moment it arrives. Starring Asa Butterfield as Ender, Hailee Steinfeld as Petra, and Harrison Ford as Col. Graff, Ender's Game is set in the distant future at an elite off-planet Battle School that trains the best young minds from planet Earth for battles against an alien species known as the Buggers. Arriving in theaters November 1st.

Update! The very first full Ender's Game trailer is now available for viewing online in high def right here.

Vengeance Blasts Enterprise on IMAX 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Poster

Experienced it in IMAX 3D! Arriving in theaters in 17 more days is J.J. Abrams' sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, bringing back the crew of the USS Enterprise for a bout with the deceptive John Harrison, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Earlier this week we featured the exclusive IMAX midnight poster, with art by Mark Englert, but IMAX has another poster up their sleeves. This new banner shows the Enterprise being dwarfed and attacked by the humongous-looking USS Vengeance ship, which we ran a good photo of last week. This is a nice compliment the other final poster with the Enterprise on it, a big step up, I dig it.

Sydney's Bridge is Falling Down on Destructive 'Pacific Rim' Banner

Following the stunning, explosive new footage from Pacific Rim that was shown at WonderCon earlier this year, the hype continues with this cool new banner. It's the Sydney Harbour Bridge at the center of destruction this time as a Kaiju has torn a huge chunk out of the structure while a Jaeger robot is poised to attack (though it might also be doing more harm than good to that bridge). The scale of this movie is just epic, and while the action does feel like Godzilla versus Transformers, audiences should know that there is a great human element to the script, so we're not just looking at another junky Battleship here. Poster below!

Must Watch: Another Superb Sci-Fi Short 'ABE' with Creepy Robot

"They say that what I am doing is wrong, and I wish I understood what that meant." Dang, the sci-fi world is really heating up as we head into a summer movie season packed with sci-fi. Yesterday we featured a short titled Project Kronos, today we've got another outstanding new sci-fi short called ABE, that is a must watch. It was pitched as "Silence of the Lambs involving a robotic serial killer" and does have that feel. Made by a VFX artist named Rob McLellan, who did all the CG animation on his own, this is an impressive short and I would love to see the eerie story continue in a full feature. I expect Hollywood to take notice quick. Watch!

Interview: 'Oblivion' Director Joseph Kosinski on Sci-Fi Filmmaking

"It could only be done the way we did it." Now in theaters is Oblivion, the second feature directed by sci-fi filmmaker Joseph Kosinski, who last directed Tron Legacy. Starring Tom Cruise as a drone repairman working on an uninhabitable future Earth, Kosinski created a new technique using LED screens on the set to envision the world and shoot without using CGI. I first met Joe on the set of Tron Legacy and interviewed him back in 2010. After giving his film quite a profile in A New Era of Sci-Fi is Upon Us, I reconnected with him last week for an interview about Oblivion, which was already playing in theaters by the time we talked.

Watch: Awesome Con Footage from del Toro's 'Pacific Rim' Online

Go big or go extinct! For those who weren't lucky enough to attend either WonderCon or CinemaCon this year, Warner Bros has decided to unleash the sizzle reel of footage from Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim seen at both of those Cons to the general public. A lot of the footage we've seen in trailers before, a lot we haven't, but this also gives us the insanely awesome shot of a Jaeger hitting a Kaiju with a freakin' boat. Charlie Day makes an appearance along with Idris Elba and Ron Perlman, plus the two leads Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi. This looks so so so awesome, it's going to be a hell of a summer of movies!

Watch: We Make Contact in Full 'Project Kronos' Sci-Fi Short Film

"We are actually watching Kronos dreaming about the journey it took and what it remembered." Let's make contact. Earlier this year we featured the trailer for an upcoming faux-documentary short called Project Kronos, that exploreed an attempt to achieve interstellar travel in a realistic way. The full short, running 14 minutes, has finally debuted and after watching it I have to feature it here. The biggest reason being the connection or hint this has to Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, additionally because it has a Contact-esque feel to it that actually gets exciting to watch as it continues into the later half. It's worth a quick view below.

First Featurette for Joon-ho Bong's Sci-Fi 'Snowpiercer' with Footage

Action! Take a look at our first look at any footage from Joon-ho Bong's Snowpiercer, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi set entirely on a train in a new ice age. We've been featuring the first posters and images leading up to the release of this project after years of prep work for it, now we finally get to see what it looks like. This featurette, first found by The Film Stage, is entirely in different languages but still shows some of the action and early scenes from the movie. It looks as energetic and exciting as I was hoping, and even moreso. Chris Evans and Kang-ho Song get the most screentime, plus a bit of John Hurt and Tilda Swinton. Enjoy!

Robot on the Town in New Poster for Guillermo del Toro's 'Pacific Rim'

Though the film is still a couple of months away, there's no denying Pacific Rim is one of the biggest films of the summer, literally and figuratively. It's hard to get much bigger than skyscraper size robots fighting giant monsters across the country on the ground, in the sea and probably even up in the air. While we're waiting for a new trailer to show us more of Guillermo del Toro's summer action extravaganza starring Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Charlie Hunnam and more, a new poster has just shown up with a robot trying to hail a taxi or something in the city. Also, construction crews in that city are going to be rich. Look!