Awesome Science Fiction

Back in the ’80s and ’90s, NPR produced a series of broadcasts that retold the original Star Wars trilogy as a radio drama. Using original audio recordings of the series, combined with movie music and sound effects, Nigel Langes compiled all of the episodes into a playlist of three videos, running about 11 hours in total.

(PG-13) Set 100 years in the future, The Seed of Juna envisions a post-apocalyptic world where Earth has fallen to religious fanatics. After being killed on Earth, a young rebel awakens on a strange planet only to face a whole new threat. Filmmaker Álvaro García Martínez envisions his CGI science fiction epic as a multipart series.

CreatorVC is producing this documentary about the science fiction films of the 1980s. The retrospective will include more than four hours of footage and interviews with the actors, directors, writers, SFX experts, and composers who brought these futuristic visions to life. The project has already blown through its Kickstarter goal.

It’s the year 2028, and while the world goes about its business, a system basically eradicates all knowledge of 20th century pop culture. Tom Scott explores one of the negative possibilities of artificial intelligence run amok in his own 6-minute episode of Black Mirror.

(PG-13: Language) exurb1a presents the deepest monologue he’s ever created, a poetic work of allegorical science fiction about a young man who searches for wisdom and insight while seeking to find his grandfather. But as he reaches his destination, the truth is revealed about his long, long journey.

With the world on lockdown, a Back to the Future fan recruited fellow fans from around the world to help create a remake of Back to the Future Part II, one scene at a time. In the end, over 300 people from 9 countries contributed to the charming and amusing film, which includes live action, animation, and puppetry.

Remote visits with doctors have become commonplace these days, but this science fiction short film from The Bloc and The Youth explores what could happen if we ever let AI tech do the doctoring instead of humans, and serves as a tribute of sorts to the real doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals on the front lines.

The guys at Squirrel Monkey offer up a 1980s style training video for the fictitious Department of Time Travel, envisioning a world in which the government started to develop a time machine back in the 1940s, and eventually unleashed it on human subjects after a series of failures and animal tests.

Inspired by the hauntingly beautiful artworks of Simon Stålenhag, this Amazon Prime series drops us into a strange and sometimes magical town that’s set atop “The Loop,” a machine that was built to make the impossible possible. Premieres 4/3/2020.

This limited-run crime drama from HBO Europe takes place in the not-too-distant future, in a world where refugees from the stone age, the Viking era, and the late 19th century have somehow settled in Oslo, Norway. Naturally, conflicts emerge between the modern folks and the time travelers.

Charlie Stewart’s beautifully minimal animated short film takes us on a journey to a far-off planet, where two scientists have been left to explore, and two AI-powered digital assistants who strike up a conversation as they wonder where their human masters have gone.

Takeshi Kovacs is back for season 2 of Netflix’s sci-fi drama, but he’s wearing a new sleeve that looks a whole lot like Anthony Mackie. This time, Tak lands a job that sends him to his home planet of Harlan’s World, where he finds himself torn between his crime-solving mission and reuniting with his long lost love, Quell.

Filmmaker David James Armsby’s short film drops us into a creepy universe in which families are forced into their monotonous daily routines until they are no longer deemed “pretty” by their robotic overlords. If you enjoyed this dark and dystopian vision, bve sure to watch the rest of the Autodale series.

This limited-run mystery series from Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) follows the story of a software engineer who thinks a secret division of her employer might actually be responsible for her boyfriend’s murder. Nick Offerman’s character is reason enough to tune in. Coming to FX on Hulu March 5, 2020.

Colin Levy’s short sci-fi film follows two teens who prank people by swapping the contents of their drone deliveries. But when a hack goes wrong, they discover a dark secret about the unmanned aerial vehicles flying overhead. The production was funded via Kickstarter and through the efforts of volunteer CG artists.

A young woman comes face to face with an android in the desert outside of Dubai, and discovers the machine is looking for a fight. But is the robot her nemesis, or simply a reflection of herself? Daniel Askill’s impeccable short film packs a punch with crisp choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and a stellar soundtrack by Philip Glass.

Known best for his outlandish scenery chewing in The Room, renaissance man Tommy Wiseau has been inserted into the world of Star Wars, with a bit of help from PistolShrimps. Along the way, he romances Anakin, seeks therapy from Yoda, tosses around a football, and calls Kylo Ren a chicken… and a princess.

Go inside the story of one of the greatest science fiction/horror movies of all time. Alexandre O. Philippe’s documentary delves into the origins of Ridley Scott’s tense, gory, and artful masterpiece. Legion M’s DVD and Blu-Ray discs come with a special limited-edition pin featuring the art of H.R. Giger.

In director David Guy Levy’s indie sci-fi flick, a man who loses his daughter starts to see cracks in the fabric of his memories, and wonders if somehow his reality is actually a simulation that he can manipulate to bring his child back. In theaters and on-demand 12/6/19.

Sean McKenna’s short film is a low-fi science fiction piece about a child’s drawing that makes its way into a time capsule, and is eventually discovered by aliens after the fall of civilization. Narrated beautifully by actor Julian Barratt, it’s a showcase of how storytelling and creativity matter far more than budget.

We love to rewatch the sci-fi/comedy Galaxy Quest whenever we get the chance. This feature-length documentary from Screen Junkies (the Honest Trailers guys) includes interviews with the original cast, celebrities, and superfans to learn why it’s such a magical and enduring movie. Arrives in select theaters 11/26/19.

CBS All Access drops another look at the upcoming Jean-Luc Picard series, which kicks off with the best Starfleet Captain ever coming out of retirement to come to the aid of a mysterious young woman. And the Captain now has two Number Ones – his cat, and Lieutenant Riker. Premieres 1/23/20.

(PG-13: Language, Gore) This short film by Ruairi Robinson (Blinky) introduces us to a man struggling with depression and other disturbing symptoms. His doctor prescribes some off-market meds which replace one problem with another. Do the pills reveal the true nature of the world, or do they just enhance his psychosis?