Highly Anticipated Sci-Fi Movies for 2016 - http://clapway.com/2015/11/15/highly-anticipated-sci-fi-movies-2016/

In 2015, Sci-Fi movies took us to Mars, back to hang out with Sarah Connor and the dangers of the Jurassic World, or to the possible future with Katniss Everdeen. Next year promises to give us just as many amazing adventures with these much anticipated Sci-Fi movies to be released in 2016.

The 5th Wave
January 15, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSlmUsSJON4

Adapted from Rick Yancey’s YA novel, The 5th Wave follows Cassie, a teenager, and her desperate attempts to save her younger brother after four waves of ever-increasing deadly alien attacks have left Earth decimated in their wake.

Chloe Moretz, from movies like Kick Ass and If I Stay, plays Cassie and the trailer left me in chills. It’s within the same vein as other dystopian, post-apocalyptic stories, but rather than zombies, aliens inhabiting human hosts are taking over the world. It kind of reminds me of Animorphs. Oh, was it just me who read those books? Well, um, uh, yeah… anyway.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
March 25, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WWzgGyAH6Y

Sci-Fi and fantasy share some blurred lines these days, and this highly anticipated movie sits in that crossover area. Batman fears what Superman, a god-like alien hero, can do with so much power. As these two canon heros fight over control of hero-dom, a new threat arises, putting mankind in more danger than before.

The plot might read as a testosterone fueled piss-off, but fans are ecstatic, having filled up Comic-con auditoriums for the chance to glimpse ‘unexpected surprises’. Ladies, do your man-friend a favor and take him to the premiere. I mean, Henry Cavill is worth $10 just to stare at him for a couple hours.

Deadpool
February 12, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONHBaC-pfsk

Wade Wilson, a former Special Forces operative who turned mercenary, volunteers for a rogue experiment. He’s dying of cancer, so what’s there to lose? The results of the experiment leave him with accelerated healing powers and he adopts the alter-ego, Deadpool.

This is one movie I’m looking forward to personally. Ryan Reynolds stars as Deadpool and he is the absolute perfect choice for the role. Reynold’s has built his career on sarcastic quips and characters (see Blade Trinity and Waiting). And great abs. I can’t wait for those, either.

The Divergent Series: Allegiant
March 18, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-kflOQmXY0

The power couple, Beatrice and Tobias, venture out of their walled city into the world. Taken into custody by a mysterious agency once they leave the fence, they discover what’s been folding the shape of their lives and their factions.

The final installment of Veronica Roth’s YA trilogy. Having read the books, I’m not sure how much I’m truly anticipating the last movie, but for those who are ignorant to the plot, I say no more!

Spectral
August 12, 2016

A Sci-Fi/thriller that follows a special-ops team that is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have invaded New York City.

Unfortunately, this is the most I could dig up on Spectral. Its IMDB page has no picture. No trailer. Nadda. Much like the inside of my wallet.

Ghostbusters
July 15, 2016

source: IMDB

At this point, the plot is unknown, but the movie is being described as a reboot. Despite unknown plot arcs, much can be gleaned from its cast. Popular comedian and SNL legend, Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, are lined up to play a couple ghostbusters. And Bill Murray comes back for a return appearance–as a cameo or more involved? Who knows. Rounding out the crew is Chris Hemsworth, my preferred Hemsworth brother, who might be having his hand at a more comedic film. With such a stellar cast of humorous individuals, Ghostbusters 2016 promises to be a good time.

Independence Day: Resurgence

June 24, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lIaMl2gK8Q

After Independence Day, the nations of Earth came together to launch a worldwide defense program using alien technology recovered from the first attack. Despite the new system, aliens return with unforeseen force. The world’s fate is left in the hands of a few brave men and women, who must bring Earth back from the brink of extinction.

With an impressive and, perhaps, ludicrous estimated budget of $200,000,000, Independence Day: Resurgence promises to be an action-packed sequel hitting theaters just in time for Independence Day itself. Starring Liam Hemsworth, my second favorite Hemsworth brother, and a few return appearances, including Vivica A. Fox as Jasmine and Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson. Unfortunately, Will Smith is not returning to the franchise. Though he is making an appearance on my desktop background. Have you seen that face?

Star Trek Beyond
July 22, 2016

source: sciencefiction.com

Spock and Captain Kirk will be back and just as good-looking as ever. That’s all you need to know, really. Oh! And Idris Elba has been cast. Seriously, who cares what the plot is? I mean, if you’re really that interested, it’s unknown at the moment. I was trying to distract you with talented men and Chris Pine’s bright blue eyes.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
December 16, 2016

source: sciencefiction.com

In addition to next month’s Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, Disney is cooking up another prequel. A group of Rebels take on a mission: steal the plans for the Empire’s Death Star.

I’m reserving excitement until next month as I fear this might be another Pirates of the Caribbean series, in which the movies keep going and going and going. One bright spot: Alan Tudyk, of whom I am a huge fan after all his work with Joss Whedon, has been cast in the film. Still no word as to his role.

Assassin’s Creed
December 21, 2016

source: pcgamer.com

Based on the widely popular video game, the movie follows Callum Lynch. Using revolutionary technology that allows him to experience the genetic memories of his ancestor. Through the process, he learns the skills of a Master Assassin and discovers he is a descendant of the secret Assassin society.

Gamers will be thrilled. This is the first feature-length film attached to the video game. It has seen animated shorts and mini-TV series before.

If you find yourself anxious and excited after this list, don’t worry. There’s plenty of movies left in 2015 to distract you. Keep your eye out for Mockingjay Part 2 and The Force Awakens.

If you really can’t wait, pick up any one of these crazy awesome Sci-Fi books. They’ll hold you over. I promise.

Highly Anticipated Sci-Fi Movies for 2016

Highly Anticipated Sci-Fi Books for 2016 - http://clapway.com/2015/11/13/highly-anticipated-sci-fi-books-2016/

Next year, 2016, promises to bring a whole new slew of Sci-Fi books into stores and, hopefully, your laps. The Sci-Fi genre has changed in recent decades, bleeding into Fantasy or vice versa and offering up whole new realms of possibility. Most of the books below include cross-genre elements, but don’t let that discourage you, oh die-hard Sci-Fi fan. There are enough cool gadgets and parallel universes to go around.

---

 

Charlie Jane Anders

All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders

January 26, 2016

Main characters Patricia and Laurence live in San Francisco, on an Earth that holds both magic and technology. Laurence is an engineering genius who’s working with a group that aims to avert the planet’s catastrophic breakdown through technological intervention by changing the global climate. Patricia is a graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the world’s magically gifted. She works with a small band of other magicians toward the same goal–to repair the Earth before it can breakdown. Little do they realize that something bigger than either of them, something begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together–to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark ages. via Goodreads

A pre-apocalyptic novel that blurs the lines between genres and questions the ramifications of climate change in our own world.

Sylvain Neuvel

 

Sleeping Giants, Sylvain Neuvel

April 26, 2016

“17 years ago: A girl in South Dakota falls through the earth, then wakes up dozens of feet below ground on the palm of what seems to be a giant metal hand. Today: She is a top-level physicist leading a team of people to understand exactly what that hand is, where it came from, and what it portends for humanity. A swift and spellbinding tale told almost exclusively through transcriptions of interviews conducted by a mysterious and unnamed character, this is a unique debut that describes a hunt for truth, power, and giant body parts.” via Goodreads

Written as a series of interviews, like World War Z, Sleeping Giants has shivers running down my spine. I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

The Medusa Chronicles, Alastair Reynolds & Stephen Baxter

May 19, 2016

“Following an accident that almost cost him his life, Howard Falcon was not so much saved as he was converted, through the use of prosthetics, into something faster, stronger and smarter …but also slightly less human and more machine than he was. And with this change came an opportunity – that of piloting a mission into Jupiter’s atmosphere, and ultimately of making first contact with the life forms he discovers there.” via Goodreads

A classic Sci-Fi novel with the usual tropes: humanity versus artificial intelligences and machines, and alien encounters. How far will technology go?

James S.A. Corey

 

Babylon’s Ashes, (Expanse # 6) James S.A. Corey

June 16, 2016

“The sixth installment in Corey’s Expanse series, Babylon’s Ashes continues to follow main character, James Holden, and his crew on interplanetary adventures. Full of political suspense and sabotage, battles between the Free Navy, a group of Belters in black-market military ships, and Rocinante’s remnant spaceships, and desperate attempts to save the world.” via Goodreads

 

 

 

 

Ben H. Winters

 

Underground Airlines, Ben H. Winters

July 5, 2016

“An ‘epic contemporary detective story,’ according to the publisher, Mullholland Books. Set in alternate world in which the Civil War never happened and slavery still exists in the American South. Underground Airlines follows an undercover agent trying to capture an escaped slave.”

Oh so relevant to our current news-narrative and controversies today, and intriguing just from its title. Looks like the Underground Railroad has gone airborne.” via Goodreads

And for anyone who loves a good YA read, check out the up-and-coming time-traveling Sci-Fi/Fantasy books for 2016!

Alexandra Bracken

Passenger, Alexandra Bracken

January 5, 2016

“In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.” via Goodreads

 

 

Heidi Heilig

The Girl from Everywhere, Heidi Heilig

February 16, 2016

“From modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend, sixteen-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end.” via Goodreads

 

 

 

Janet B. Taylor

Into the Dim, Janet B. Taylor

March 1, 2016

“When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing.” via Goodreads

 

Harriet Reuter Hapgood

The Square Root of Summer, Harriet Reuter Hapgood

May 3, 2016

“17-year-old physics prodigy Gottie Oppenheimer navigates a summer of grief and rips in the space-time continuum, all while trying to reconcile heartbreak.” via Goodreads

 

 

 

 

If this list has you excited to read something right now, take a look at these titles already released in 2015 to hold you over!

 

Kevin Hearne

Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi, Kevin Hearne

“Luke Skywalker’s game-changing destruction of the Death Star has made him not only a hero of the Rebel Alliance but a valuable asset in the ongoing battle against the Empire. Though he’s a long way from mastering the power of the Force, there’s no denying his phenomenal skills as a pilot—and in the eyes of Rebel leaders Princess Leia Organa and Admiral Ackbar, there’s no one better qualified to carry out a daring rescue mission crucial to the Alliance cause.” via Goodreads

 

 

Ian Tregillis

The Mechanical (The Alchemy Wars #1), Ian Tregillis

“Jax is a clakker: a mechanical man, powered by alchemy. Armies of his kind have conquered the world–and mad the Brasswork Throne the sole superpower. Jax is a faithful servant, the ultimate fighting machine endowed with great strength and boundless stamina, beholden to the wishes of his human masters. He is a slave. He will break free.” via Goodreads

 

 

 

Peter Newman

The Vagrant, Peter Newman

“The Vagrant is his name. He has no other. Friendless and alone he walks across a desolate, war-torn landscape, carrying nothing but a kit-bag, a legendary sword and a baby. His purpose is to reach the Shining City, last bastion of the human race, and deliver the sword, the only weapon that may make a difference in the ongoing war. But the Shining City is far away and the world is a very dangerous place.” via Goodreads

 

 

James S.A. Corey

Nemesis Games, (Expanse #5) James S.A. Corey

“A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle. A new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.

 

 

 

Ernest Cline

Armada, Ernest Cline

Zack Lightman spends his free-time playing a Sci-Fi video game battling invading alien forces before they can invade Earth, which turns out to have been training him and his fellow gamers for the battle of their lives. At last given the chance to play the hero, Zack heads into space to stop the invasion and save the world. via Goodreads

 

 

Highly Anticipated Sci-Fi Books for 2016