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Netflix cancels 'Altered Carbon' after just two seasons
There won't be a third season of Altered Carbon.
'Tenet' will debut internationally a week before some US cities
After multiple delays, Christopher Nolan's Tenet has a release date.
Christopher Nolan's 'Tenet' has been delayed indefinitely
The sci-fi movie's rollout could be staggered by country and even by city.
A Disney+ 'Star Wars' series is coming from a 'Russian Doll' co-creator
'Russian Doll' co-creator Leslye Headland is producing a female-centered 'Star Wars' series for Disney+.
Meet the Upscalers
Fans across the world are using technology to bring low-res video entertainment up to HD standards. Meet the Upscalers.
How Amazon turned Simon Stålenhag’s ‘Tales from the Loop’ into a TV show
It's a departure from Stålenhag's art, but an intentional one. It’s just there and I think that’s rather unique."
'Star Trek: Voyager' gets an unofficial 4K remaster thanks to AI
As with Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager is unlikely to ever get an official high-resolution remaster. The effects were shot on video rather than added to film after the fact, making it much harder to upgrade the quality than it was for The Next Generation. However, an unofficial project might get relatively close. Series fan Billy Reichard has started processing Voyager with a machine learning program that upgrades that '90s era image quality as much as possible. You won't forget that the show was made for tube TVs given the aspect ratio, but the AI is surprisingly effective -- it produces something you probably wouldn't mind watching on an idle afternoon if you're a Star Trek devotee.
Japanese TV shows that inspired 'Power Rangers' are coming to YouTube
Many millennials grew up watching Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and the similar shows that followed in its popularity, but they most likely have never seen the source material from Japan that was used to create the action-heavy battle scenes. TOEI -- the studio behind many of those shows -- wants to change that. The company will upload subtitled versions of classic special effects shows to its new YouTube channel, TOEI Tokusatsu World Official, starting on April 6th. The channel will feature tokusatsu -- sci-fi shows that rely on miniature models, special effects shots and over-the-top costumes -- that were adapted by western studios, such as Himitsu Sentai Gorenger and Space Cop Gavan, as well as other classics like National Kid and Combattler V.
Netflix will end 'Lost in Space' with a third season in 2021
One of Netflix's biggest sci-fi shows (and biggest shows, period) is winding to a close. Netflix has renewed Lost in Space for a third and final season expected to premiere sometime in 2021. This isn't the product of Netflix's habit of canceling shows after three seasons, thankfully. Series showrunner Zack Estrin stressed that the modernized tale of the Robinsons and the Robot was designed as a trilogy with a "clear beginning, middle and end," and it's just reaching its expected conclusion.
Ava DuVernay teams with 'Star Wars' veteran on Amazon sci-fi series
Amazon's commitment to sci-fi on Prime Video may have scored it a particularly sweet deal. Ava DuVernay's Array Filmworks is partnering with Victoria Mahoney (who helped direct Rise of Skywalker as well as episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Power and You) on an adaptation of Octavia Butler's acclaimed sci-fi novel Dawn, which tells the tale of a black woman who works with aliens to restore humanity after a centuries-old nuclear war. Mahoney will be the series writer and direct the pilot, but she and DuVernay will executive produce the show alongside others.
'Westworld' season 3 trailer sets the stage for an AI battle
HBO has released a new trailer for the upcoming third season of Westworld. It shows Dolores, Maeve and Westworld's other characters leave the confines of the park that defined so much of show's past two seasons. Additionally, we see more of the futuristic city we saw glimpses of in the first trailer HBO shared last July. There's also the suggestion Maeve and Dolores will come into a conflict, with a mysterious new character instructing the former to find and kill her fellow android. To top it all off, an orchestral version of "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses accompanies the latter half of the trailer.
'Altered Carbon' season 2 trailer spoils a key moment
Following last week's teaser, Netflix has shared the first main trailer for season two of Altered Carbon. A word of warning: if you want to go into the new episodes without spoiling any of the story, don't watch the trailer or read what follows this paragraph as the trailer shares almost too many details.
'Altered Carbon' season 2 teaser shows Anthony Mackie as the 'new' hero
Netflix is finally ready to show a little more of Altered Carbon's second season -- if only just. The service has posted a teaser trailer that revolves around Anthony Mackie as the "re-sleeve" of Takeshi Kovacs, who was played by Joel Kinnaman in the first season. As the clip makes clear, though, a new body doesn't make things any easier. He's embroiled in a "ghost story," and there's a risk of becoming a ghost in the process.
'Journey to the Savage Planet' is a funnier take on space exploration
I step on to the glimmering blue teleporter and beam aboard my Javelin spaceship, a slew of aluminum, carbon and silicon particles in hand. Immediately, some screens on the upper deck start playing an advert for something called Mini-Mall Monkeys. I scramble up the stairs and stare dumbfounded as the booming voiceover explains how anyone can make tiny humans by "adding sub-zero radioactive water to a microlife power packet mix." The clip, performed by real actors in brightly colored outfits, is shot like a toy commercial from the 1990s.
Sci-fi series 'Altered Carbon' returns to Netflix on February 27th
Netflix's Emmy-nominated sci-fi saga Altered Carbon is returning for a second season, two years after the first batch of episodes. You won't have to wait much longer to delve back into its dystopian cyberpunk world, as season two hits Netflix February 27th.
NBC may revive 'Quantum Leap' for its Peacock streaming service
NBC's Peacock is already set to rely heavily on nostalgia with planned Punky Brewster and Saved By the Bell shows, but it might not stop there. Program strategy head Jeff Bader told SlashFilm that the broadcaster is considering a revival of Quantum Leap, the series that saw scientist Dr. Sam Beckett travel through time to right historical wrongs. While Bader didn't say how likely the show was, he noted that "everyone is discussing" it.
'Star Trek: Picard' has already been renewed for a second season
CBS clearly has a lot of confidence in Star Trek: Picard. The broadcaster has already renewed the sci-fi series for a second season, suggesting that it expects a hit when the show premieres on January 23rd. There's no mention of when that season will premiere (we're certainly not expecting plot details), but it's safe to presume Patrick Stewart will be back as the titular star.
A 'Snow Crash' TV series is coming to HBO Max
Neal Stephenson's influential Snow Crash is finally poised to reach screens, although you'll have to be picky about where you watch it. HBO Max has ordered work on a TV series adaptation of the sci-fi novel that will be written and co-run by the Scott Pilgrim movie's Michael Bacall, and directed by Attack the Block's Joe Cornish. The L Word's Angela Robinson will run the show alongside Bacall.
Recommended Reading: The science fiction of William Gibson
How William Gibson keeps his science fiction real Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker While a lot of sci-fi is obsessed with the distant future, one of the best authors of the genre takes a different approach. The New Yorker explains how William Gibson "has imagined the near future more convincingly than anyone else" to create his stories. That includes his concept of "cyberspace" that first appeared in his work in the early 1980s.
Watch the first trailer for HBO's 'Avenue 5' sci-fi space comedy
Avenue 5, HBO's new sci-fi comedy, debuts in January, and HBO has released the first teaser to get you excited. The show is about the cruise ship Avenue 5, led by the acerbic Captain Ryan Clark, played by Hugh Laurie. All seems to be pleasant and delightful until an as-yet unforeseen disaster causes mayhem and panic that the crew scrambles to resolve.
