# The Next Big Science Fiction Movie Should Be... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692 "2016-01-20T18:37:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/121 "2016-01-30T04:58:59Z")
_The Stars My Destination_ - Alfred Bester _Snow Crash_ - Neal Stephenson _The Forever War_ - Joe Haldeman _Ringworld_ - Larry Niven _Leviathan Wakes_ - James S.A. Corey ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/122 "2016-01-30T07:55:24Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > _The Stars My Destination_ - Alfred Bester > _Snow Crash_ - Neal Stephenson > _The Forever War_ - Joe Haldeman > _Ringworld_ - Larry Niven > _Leviathan Wakes_ - James S.A. Corey Good news. Leviathan Wakes IS being made into a TV series by SyFy and the authors are doing the scriptwrting – it’s called “The Expanse,” the first season is airing now on SyFy and they’ve already approved Season 2 despite dismal ratings. It’s great. I think someone has already ninja’d you on this … and also ninja’d me on the response. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/123 "2016-01-30T08:05:20Z")
Don’t know if it’s been suggested but the 3 books of the Paratwa Saga by Christopher Hinz could make a wonderful series of movies. It concerns a future with engineered twin (or triplet) assassins and I’ve rarely read more gripping SF. I highly recommend the books to those who haven’t read them. ---
**Author:** ![nachtmusick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/124 "2016-01-30T11:34:56Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Good news. Leviathan Wakes IS being made into a TV series by SyFy and the authors are doing the scriptwrting – it’s called “The Expanse,” the first season is airing now on SyFy and they’ve already approved Season 2 despite dismal ratings. It’s great. I think someone has already ninja’d you on this … and also ninja’d me on the response. OK, so this explains why I liked the pilot episode of the Expanse so much. SyFy airs a lot of crap, but the Expanse is one of those rare attempts at excellence. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/125 "2016-01-31T21:02:29Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > I think _Matter_ would make a good film; the story is basically a ‘Mummy’s Tomb’ melodrama, with all the interesting Culture trappings. - Player of Games\* is my pick for best Banks to film, it’s the most self-contained and has the most _human_ protagonist. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/126 "2016-01-31T21:57:43Z")
I have not been able to wade through Out Of The Silent Planet, tho I’ve read C.S. Lewis’ Perelandra and That Hideous Strength twice. I’d definitely want to see movies of the latter two & may be able to get into the movie version of the first. Before one more low-budget Rapture movie, somone needs to go epic with James BeauSeigneur’s CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY. ---
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/127 "2016-02-01T16:27:42Z")
Or, if we’re headed in a religious-themed direction, how about Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s _A_ _Canticle_ _For_ _Leibowitz_, or Neal Stephenson’s _Anathem_? ---
**Author:** ![Salad\_Smell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@Salad\_Smell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salad_Smell)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/128 "2016-02-01T16:48:30Z")
Peter Watts “Blindsight.” Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/129 "2016-02-02T16:54:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’d love to see David Brin’s stuff done well - maybe start with Startide Rising as the most action-y, although I’m not sure the dolphins can carry a film. Then The Uplift War, because the new Apes movies have given me hope that the Uplifted Chimps can be done properly now. > > Of course, actually I’d be hoping for a Jijo trilogy… I think to do them right as a series of movies, they’d actually need to do the Hollywood style cut and splice method, in that I’d think you’d need to start off with a human-centric story, and use that to explain the idea of uplift, wolflings, the Library, etc… and explain humanity’s place in the universe. Then, you could go off and have adventures with Captain Creideiki and company, but I think if you started off with dolphins right off the bat in the initial movie, it would be too weird for most people. I think David Brin is probably done for, as far as TV is concerned; the execrable movie “The Postman” probably drove the stake through the heart of adapting any more of his movies to the small or big screen. (which is unfortunate; the movie had almost nothing to do with the book, which was fantastic!) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/130 "2016-02-02T18:15:06Z")
> [@bump](#): > > …I think David Brin is probably done for, as far as TV is concerned; the execrable movie “The Postman” probably drove the stake through the heart of adapting any more of his movies to the small or big screen. (which is unfortunate; the movie had almost nothing to do with the book, which was fantastic!) As it happens, Brin liked the movie more than you did: [worlds of DAVID BRIN](http://www.davidbrin.com/postmanmovie.html) ---
**Author:** ![IT\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3ec8ea/32.png) [@IT\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IT_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/131 "2016-02-03T05:06:19Z")
Ooh, ooh, I got one! Poul Anderson, “The High Crusade”. Aliens land in England in 1345; things don’t go quite the way they planned.:eek: Should be easy to do nowadays, and is a great story. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/132 "2016-02-03T14:38:33Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > - > > Player of Games\* is my pick for best Banks to film, it’s the most self-contained and has the most _human_ protagonist. IMO. Trouble is that it would be hard to represent Azad on film. Banks was pretty vague about most of the details of the game in the book. And it would be even harder to visually depict a three-gender species, too. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/133 "2016-02-03T15:00:12Z")
> [@IT\_Guy](#): > > Ooh, ooh, I got one! Poul Anderson, “The High Crusade”. > Aliens land in England in 1345; things don’t go quite the way they planned.:eek: > Should be easy to do nowadays, and is a great story. They did make oa film version of this in 1994, with John-Rhys Davies as the priest: > **[The High Crusade (1994) ⭐ 5.2 | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110024/)** > > 1h 40m I haven’t seen it, but I understand they don’t play it straight – they play up the silliness angle, and it’s not highly regarded. > **[The High Crusade - The Unknown Movies](http://www.the-unknown-movies.com/unknownmovies/reviews/rev118.html)** > > Reviews of movies that no one else reviews! Reviews of B-movies, made-for-video movies, obscure movies... > [@](#): > > Cool. But as I’ve said many, many times before, it’s not necessarily the premise of the movie that counts, but the execution of the premise. And it’s here that the movie starts become bizarre. I haven’t read the acclaimed book, though I’ve heard that, although it has a few scenes of light humor, it’s essentially a science fiction drama. But the makers of The High Crusade, the movie, changed the angle by making the movie a comedy. To tell the truth, I would have preferred the movie to have been more or less serious, like the book supposedly is. Still, if the movie had been funny, I would have recommended the movie without hesitation. The High Crusade isn’t funny. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JYct9AT2b-s/hqdefault.jpg "The High Crusade (1994)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYct9AT2b-s) So I’d like to see it re-made, correctly. The book’s obviously not intended to be taken altogether seriously, but you ought to be able to strike the right tone without pandering to audiences that want a retread _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/134 "2016-02-03T17:48:40Z")
I think Worldwar (Aliens with early 21st Century technology invade during WWII) would make for a cool mini series or even series. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692/135 "2016-02-03T17:59:29Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I think Worldwar (Aliens with early 21st Century technology invade during WWII) would make for a cool mini series or even series. I agree wholeheartedly. I read the entire run – the first four-book series, the three-book followup, and the last standalone. The initial quadrology would make a helluvan epic series. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-big-science-fiction-movie-should-be/743692.md?page=6)