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Amazon orders William Gibson series from the creators of 'Westworld'
Amazon's push into sci-fi increasingly entails some of the biggest names in the business, both on-screen and off. After months of waiting, Amazon has ordered a Prime Video series adaptation of William Gibson's sci-fi novel The Peripheral that will be executive produced by Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan (shown above) as well as A Simple Plan's Scott Smith. The mystery/thriller hybrid revolves around a woman struggling to deal with a broken family until she witnesses what she think might be a horrific murder. After that, the future "comes calling for her" -- or rather, futures.
The 'Stargate' streaming service is closing shop and moving to YouTube
After less than two years in operation, Stargate Command, the sci-fi series' official streaming service and fan hub, is shutting down at the end of the year. It's not a total loss though; original shows like Dialing Home and Recon will be available for free on YouTube in 2020. Stargate aficionados are sure to be disappointed by the news, but this seemed like a weird pull from the beginning. Even a dedicated Star Trek streaming service sounds dubious, despite Star Trek having a far broader audience.
Netflix renews 'Another Life' for a second season despite lousy reviews
Despite less than stellar reviews, Netflix will produce a second season of its sci-fi series Another Life. Star Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Longmire) confirmed the news in a tweet she shared on Tuesday. According to The Hollywood Reporter, season two will start production next year in Vancouver, Canada -- which, coincidently, is where most of Battlestar Galactica was filmed. However, there's no word yet on when the 10 new episodes will premiere. In an interview with Collider, Sackhoff said Another Life has at least three seasons worth of story in it.
Apple TV+ adaptation of 'Foundation' will star Jared Harris and Lee Pace
Apple isn't cutting corners with its TV+ version of Isaac Asimov's Foundation. The tech giant has cast its first two stars for the show, choosing Chernobyl's Jared Harris (above) to play math genius Hari Seldon and Halt and Catch Fire's Lee Pace as the Emperor of the Galaxy, Brother Day. The show already had some pedigree behind it through showrunner David Goyer, who wrote Terminator: Dark Fate and is working on Netflix's The Sandman.
Adidas readies an entire collection of Star Wars basketball shoes
If you're both a Star Wars fan and a hypebeast, the next month might a dream come true. Adidas is releasing an entire Star Wars x Adidas collection of basketball shoes starting on November 1st, catering to both your particular fandom and your footwear style in a bid to create buzz for The Rise of Skywalker. There are R2-D2 and Stormtrooper versions of the Nite Jogger, for instance, as well as a Pro Next 2019 with Light Side and Dark Side graphics on each half (above). You can expect more 'generic' Star Wars designs if you don't want to declare particular allegiances, although their bright colors (we've seen blue, green and purple so far) won't be subtle.
'Star Trek: Picard' debuts January 23rd, 2020
New York Comic Con has proven kind to Star Trek fans this year. To begin with, CBS has confirmed that its All Access series Star Trek: Picard will premiere on January 23rd, 2020. You won't have to wait too much longer to see what has happened with Starfleet's best-known captain since his last outing. CBS will dribble out one episode every Thursday until the 10-episode first season is complete. Thankfully, you'll have some fresh material to watch before then.
Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’ returns to theaters in October
While the official 40th anniversary of Ridley Scott's Alien was back in May, horror junkies and film buffs alike should mark their calendars for this October. The classic movie that started a hit-or-miss franchise of Xenomorphs, space jockeys and milk-blooded androids will be hitting the big screen in select theaters across the US.
A fourth 'Matrix' movie is happening
Yes, you read that correctly. About 16 years after the last movie in the series, Warner Bros. has confirmed work on a fourth movie in The Matrix universe. And it doesn't appear to be a spinoff -- Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will star in the picture. Only one of the Wachowski sisters (Lana) is involved, but she'll direct, co-write and co-produce.
'The Man Who Fell to Earth' will get a TV remake on CBS All Access
CBS is continuing its habit of reviving classic franchises as streaming shows. The broadcaster has ordered a series version of The Man Who Fell to Earth based on both Walter Tevis' novel and the legendary movie starring David Bowie. The premise remains largely the same -- an alien lands on Earth at a "turning point" for humans and learns what our species is like while trying to protect his own. There's no casting or release info at this stage, but the show will have strong production talent.
Amazon renews rescued sci-fi series 'The Expanse' for fifth season
Amazon clearly has a lot of confidence in its revival of The Expanse -- the internet giant has renewed the gritty sci-fi show for a fifth season months before season four's December 13th premiere. That's not completely surprising when the Prime Video series both has a devoted following from its Syfy days and an experienced team. Nonetheless, it's likely to be comforting for fans worried that Amazon might resurrect the show only to axe it soon afterward.
'Westworld' season 3 trailer shows robots venturing beyond the park
HBO has released the first full trailer for Westworld's third season, and it's clear that there's much, much more to see than what you caught in the teaser. The clip shows a future city where the park robots have slipped into human society, with Dolores well aware that she and her fellow bots are prime targets. She'll clearly be involved with Caleb, the construction worker played by Aaron Paul. We also see Maeve in a WWII-themed park -- as if Westworld's robots weren't dangerous enough.
Netflix's 'Another Life' trailer shows Katee Sackhoff back in space
It's been a while since we heard about this 10-episode sci-fi series from Netflix that features Battlestar Galactica and Longmire star Katee Sackhoff, but now there's a new teaser trailer for Another Life. According to the synopsis, her character Niko Breckenridge is on an interstellar mission to find the origin of a massive alien artifact after it lands on Earth, while her husband stays home investigating it. As you might have guessed, the mission doesn't appear to be going well, however the trailer doesn't explain quite what threat anyone is facing. Selma Blair and Justin Chatwin are also appearing in the Aaron Martin (Slasher) created show. We won't have to wait long to find out what the deal is -- Another Life premieres July 25th.
'Stranger Things 3' pays respect to the power and perils of tech
Warning: While we've tried to avoid any spoilers in this story, the following article does refer to scenes and themes throughout the season. When members of the Stranger Things cast visited The Tonight Show earlier this month, Jimmy Fallon asked them to use one word to describe the new season. "Bigger," said Gaten Matarazzo, who plays the role of Dustin Henderson in Netflix's '80s-nostalgia-mining hit show. And Matarazzo wasn't kidding. During its first two seasons, Stranger Things mostly centered around the kids' homes and their high school in Hawkins, Indiana. Although it did also include forms of them in the alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. But in Stranger Things 3, which premieres on July 4th, that world is getting even bigger thanks to new characters, new local attractions, new cities and new countries becoming an essential part of the story.
Amazon's sci-fi drama 'Bliss' to star Salma Hayek and Owen Wilson
What if Elon Musk is right and we're living in a simulation? Salma Hayek and Owen Wilson will star in Bliss, a new sci-drama for Amazon Studios that explores this question further. Written and directed by Mike Cahill (Another Earth), the production started filming this week in Los Angeles and Croatia. Amazon hasn't released too many details on the plot, but the film appears to be a love story that mixes elements of The Matrix and The Good Place.
Anthony Mackie cast as a drone pilot in Netflix's 'Outside the Wire'
After playing an Avenger in the MCU and a very adventurous gamer in Black Mirror season five, Anthony Mackie has another project lined up for Netflix. He'll star in the upcoming movie Outside the Wire, a sci-fi flick set in the future where he plays a drone pilot who ends up working for an android to locate a doomsday device. Mikael Håfström (1408, Escape Plan) Sounds tense -- not polar bear tense, but it'll have to do -- and it has another link to videogames. The script is written by Rowan Athale (Rise/Wasteland) and Rob Yescombe, who has credits from a number of games including The Division, Rime, Crysis 2 and 3, and Haze. We don't know what ideas, if any, could link any of those to this, but back in 2007 Yescombe told Gamasutra in an interview that: As a [futuristic private military operator] Mantel guy, it makes sense that you play it like a game, because you're absolved from responsibility. It's weird that our entertainment is founded on shooting people in the face! The truth is that I enjoy it as much as anyone else, but I find myself weird for liking it so much. That's less than a big political statement; it's much more about, 'What are we, as people who are entertained by this?' Update: In a tweet, Yescombe tells Engadget that as far as Haze and Outside the Wire go, "the two are wholly unrelated."
Watch trailers for each 'Black Mirror' episode in season five
With season five of Black Mirror set to debut on June 5th, Netflix released trailers for each of the season's three episodes. They star Anthony Mackie and Miley Cyrus -- along with Topher Grace, Andrew Scott and Pom Klementieff. The show sticks to its critical stance on humanity's relationship with technology and features a voice-enabled robot pal gone awry and drama intertwined with meditation, fertility and dating apps. As Black Mirror Executive Producer Annabel Jones told Entertainment Weekly, the three episodes are socially relevant and have the show's signature "sense of mischief and romp."
LA museum's sci-fi car exhibit includes HoloLens tours
There's a chance you've seen a movie car or two if you've visited a convention, but the Petersen Automotive Museum's offering should be more... elaborate. It's opening a "Hollywood Dream Machines" exhibit that will showcase 40 vehicles from sci-fi games and movies. Some of them are practically expected, like the DeLorean from Back to the Future, Deckard's sedan from Blade Runner and a lightcycle from Tron: Legacy. Others, however, are harder-to-see items like the GM Ultralight from Demolition Man as well as Lexuses from Black Panther and Minority Report. And how many times are you going to see life-size recreations of a Warthog from Halo or a Sparrow from Destiny?
Watch the trailer for Ang Lee's 120 fps film 'Gemini Man'
We knew Will Smith was preparing to fight a younger version of himself in the upcoming Ang Lee sci-fi film Gemini Man. Now, thanks to the trailer released today, we get a glimpse of what that will look like. The two-minute clip shows present-day Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite but aging assassin who's being chased by a younger clone. Visual effects -- similar to those that allowed Samuel L. Jackson to digitally de-age in Captain Marvel -- will make it possible for Smith to play both roles.
Amazon lands Viola Davis' adaptation of Octavia Butler's 'Wild Seed'
Amazon Prime Video is continuing its sci-fi push with Wild Seed, a drama series based on the first of Octavia Butler's Afrofuturist Patternist books. The show will come to Amazon courtesy of Viola Davis and Julius Tennon of JuVee Production, and will be written by author Nnedi Okorafor and Rafiki filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu.
The GravaStar is a Bluetooth speaker with robotic charm
It's the aesthetic that grabbed me. Bluetooth speakers have become commonplace, but a desktop spheroid robo-speaker with glowing lights? That's intriguing. Being from a crowd-funded startup does lend itself to a bit of skepticism, but after getting to test the GravaStar by Zoeao, I found that it's no cheap plastic toy. It has a solidly built metal exterior, bright green accent lights, a Qualcomm chipset and Harman Kardon audio components. If the design appeals to you as well, you can pick one up for $129+ on Indiegogo as an early bird backer. And if you get in quick enough, you may even have one in your home before May.
