Terminator: Salvation (aka Terminator 4) isn’t due to be released until 22 May 2009, but that hasn’t stopped the heads at The Halcyon Company from gearing up to produce Terminator 5 in time for a 2011 release. Terminator:
Salvation director McG (yep, that’s his name) has signed up as has Christian Bale. News is Christian Bale’s contract is to play lead character John Connor for three Terminator movies so if the news on Terminator 5 is anything to go by, it won’t be long before we’re hearing that Terminator 6 has been green lit as well.
I think the producers realize that there’s no point waiting to see how well Salvation does at the box office. Terminator 1 cost just $6.4M to make and raked in a whopping $80.4M. Terminator 2 kept the earnings coming, costing $102M to make and grossing $517M. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re a Babylon 5 fan then you’ll be pretty pleased to hear the news that Bruce Boxleitner will be appearing with Jeff Bridges in Tron 2.0.
Both Boxleitner and Bridges both starred in the original Tron, a 1982 Disney sci fi film that gives away my age, for I remember eagerly rushing to the cinema to watch it. The storyline follows characters as they fight to survive inside a virtual computer world and battle against the Master Control Program. Boxleitner played the character of Alan Bradley, also known as Tron.
Disney are keeping the storyline under wraps at this time which in turn is fuelling speculation about what type of role the aging lead actors will play, especially considering younger actors Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett have now been signed on. However it goes, its very cool to see a sequel scheduled for release almost 30 years on and still starring the original actors. Very cool.
The film is due for release in 2011.
Fans of 2000 AD’s long running comic will be happy to know that a new live-action Judge Dredd movie has been given the green light. Judge Dredd is a long running comic produced by 2000AD.
Some of you may cringe at this news if you haven’t shaken the memory of the 1995 Judge Dredd movie starring Sylvester Stallone. With a 4.8 rating on the IMDB, its pretty clear most people didn’t like that movie. I would have given it a 7, mainly because it spawned an awesome soundtrack by Alan Sylvestri and a sick pinball machine which I gladly traded many hours of my life to play.
It failed at the box office however, grossing only $23 million worldwide more than it cost to make, so I’d be fairly certain the new production team will be taking note of what didn’t work. Read the rest of this entry »
In sad news for many fans of science fiction comes the news that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has died. Majel is widely known as the ‘First Lady of Stark Trek’ for she is credited with having championed the continuation of the series since the death of her husband and Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry.
Majel is well known for having provided the voice of the ship’s computer in the Star Trek series since the very first pilot episode. Just before her death it was announced she would provide the voice of the computer in the soon to be released Star Trek XI and the news is she managed to do so – a recording that will live on as her final Star Trek legacy.
Her son, Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry Jr., announced the following: “My mother truly acknowledged and appreciated the fact that Star Trek fans played a vital role in keeping the Roddenberry dream alive for the past 42 years. It was her love for the fans, and their love in return, that kept her going for so long after my father passed away.
What is not widely known but is in fact a very honest demonstration of her character, Majel was heavily involved in charities and particular those that aimed to help animals. The Barrett-Roddenberry family has asked fans who wish to send flowers to instead use their money to make donations in Barrett-Roddenberry’s name to the C.A.R.E. or Precious Paw foundations as a tribute to her passion.
Veteran actor Robert Carlyle has been named the leader of the new Stargate team in the third Stargate franchise, Stargate Universe. Stargate Universe will chronicle the story of a group of soldiers, scientists and civilians as they survive being trapped aboard an ancient alien spacecraft in the deep space.
Reaction to Carlyle’s appointment has been mixed amongst fans, although I’m quite surprised by this. He’s an excellent actor and his face is very recognizable after top notch performances in movies like 28 Days Later and Trainspotting. Personally I think any poor reaction to the fact that Carlyle is the new face of Stargate is nothing short of foot in mouth syndrome. Serious Stargate fans should rejoice that a high calibre actor will be taking part in this brilliant series.
Well, I say ‘brilliant’ series because Stargate Atlantis has catapulted itself to the second place on my favourite Sci Fi shows list, falling just short of my love for Battlestar Galactica (and just ahead of my love for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles). Read the rest of this entry »
In my view the modern remake of Battlestar Galactica is by far the greatest science fiction series ever made for television. On January 16 the final episodes of Season 4 will air on scifi.com, after which Battlestar Galactica will end. But there’s good news.
A while back we reported that the Sci Fi Channel had commissioned production of a 2 hour prequel series pilot titled Caprica. It seems the pilot must have impressed the powers that be, for it hasn’t aired yet and already the signatures are on the dotted line for a further 20 hours. Yep, that’s 20 episodes of a whole brand new series based in the Battlestar Galactica universe.
I admit, I’ve never been a fan of prequels and, even in the case of Battlestar Galactica, I’ve tended to sigh each time I hear the word. But, in this case, I’d rather a prequel than nothing at all.
Caprica is set some 50 years before the events that take place in Battlestar Galactica and it follows the story of two rival families as they compete across the 12 Colonies. It will also chronicle the creation of the Cylons and no doubt the first Cylon war. It is being touted as televisions first real science fiction family saga. Read the rest of this entry »
