What book was "Soldier" based on?

Cafe Society
1

The Kurt Russell SF film Soldier () supposedly was based on a novel, but I can’t seem to find it. Does anybody know the author and title? Not that the movie was that great (imagine a spacefaring human civilization using an Earthlike planet with breathable air as a garbage dump!), but I’m interested in the backstory – how did the United States evolve into a fascist state cable of raising a caste of slave-soldiers from the cradle? And why is the “American Forces” shield in both English and Spanish?

2

Here’s a link to the IMDB entry on Soldier – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120157/ – but there’s no mention of whether it was based on a book.

3

There is no mention of any source material other thatn the original script by David Peoples in either the credits or the director’s commentary on the DVD. There are a number of references to Blade Runner (Which Mr. Peoples also worked on) and a number of similar themes but no source book.

Cheers,
-DF

4

I’ve heard this too but I suspect that they just used a bunch of old crap from the movie set as props and some of them happened to be from Blade Runner. Kind of like the damn Aliens skull in Predator II that started that whole Aliens vs Predator madness.

I never understood the need to have an entire planet used as a scrapyard. It must come from that school of sci fi where every planet has only one purpose/ecosystem - trade planet, garbage planet, desert planet, jungle planet, whatever.

5

I’m pretty sure there are a couple place-names used in “Soldier” that were also mentioned by Roy Batty in the film “Blade Runner.” I forget the names, though. I’ve heard “Soldier” referred to as a “sideguel” to BR.

Sir Rhosis

6

The specific reference was Tannhauser Gate, a battle where both Sergeant Todd and Roy Batty Fought (and this is discussed in the commentary). The scrap yard planet set did indeed contain bits and pieces of many older sets. The ceiling of Sandy’s house was the bottom part of either an aircraft or space ship from another movie (Alien? I can’t be bothered to watch it right now to get the exact details, but it is discussed in the commentary). I wouldn’t be surprised if the minigun that Todd and one of the newer soldiers carried was a left over from Predator although that isn’t addressed specifically. The trash heaps themselves were very carefully welded together and no sharp edges were left on the surface for safety reasons.

The movie was envisioned partly as a western, in the future, and both the costumes and the colour palate reflect that at various times.

Cheers,
-DF

7

I can’t see Soldier as being set in the same universe as Blade Runner – because in the BR universe, the Army wouldn’t need to raise or gene-engineer soldiers, it would simply use manufactured replicants.

Does anybody know anything about the backstory for Soldier? Specifically, how did the U.S. evolve into a state capable of nurturing a caste of rightless slave-warriors?