Sci Fi Movies This Week: Weekly column tracking what is coming in the current week in the way of sci fi, fantasy, and horror releases as well as news and updates on genre films, streaming and theatrical.
Sci Fi Movie Premieres This Week:
As we reach the end of August, there are quite a number of sci fi and fantasy films hitting the theaters which could be looked at as a dump-off of everything that is left at this point. Or perhaps they are saving the best for last? You decide. Leading off the week is the Ridley Scott post-apocalyptic film Dog Stars which opens in wide-release on Friday. Also getting notable exposure is Coyote vs. Acme, which almost stuffed away as a tax write-off, but that is a whole story in itself. And also hitting wide release is the horror film Buddy.
In limited release, is the sci fi horror Colony which comes from Train to Busan‘s Yeon Sang-ho. Joining that is Legend of the White Dragon, and as I previously predicted, the horror film It Ends is getting an expanded release in its second week. Re-releases this week include Terminator 2: Judgement Day, celebrating its 35th anniversary, as well as the the French animated sci fi film Gandahar from René Laloux (Fantastic Planet) which has received a 4K restoration. You can see highlights for this week below, and you can see the schedule of all the current and upcoming sci fi and fantasy movies at this link.
Dog Stars (In Theaters, August 28th): Amelia Eve stars as Gemma, a young mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in who discovers she can travel into The Further, the purgatorial realm of lost souls at the heart of the Insidious universe. When something evil comes after her, Gemma discovers an ability that changes everything: she doesn’t just enter The Further, she can bring what lives there back to the real world. Once the demons realize her power, our world becomes their playground.
Directed by: Jacob Chase
Starring: Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Lin Shaye
Coyote vs. Acme (In Theaters, August 28th): After decades of being blown to bits by bombs, demolished by dynamite, mangled by magnets, battered by boulders, trampled by trains, tricked by tunnels, sprung by springs, steamrolled by steamrollers, maligned by misfires, bedeviled by bungees, rattled by rockets, backstabbed by bat suits, rocked by rocket skates, upended by unicycles, quaked by quake pills, rubberized by rogue bands, and hurled headlong off every cliff in the Southwest, Wile E. Coyote (Genius) finally fights back. Teaming up with billboard accident lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), he takes on slick corporate counsel Buddy Crane (John Cena) and ACME, Inc., the profit-obsessed conglomerate behind every one of the Coyote’s chaotic catastrophes.
Directed by: Dave Green
Starring: John Cena, Will Forte, James Gunn, Lana Condor, Chris McKay, P.J. Byrne, Chris deFaria, Jon Silberman
Colony (In Theaters-Limited, August 28th): Horror master Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) directs a new Korean zombie thriller starring Gianna Jun and Koo Kyo-hwan. Professor Se-jeong (Jun) is thrust into a bloody nightmare when a rapidly mutating virus is released during a biotech conference causing authorities to seal the facility. Trapped inside with no escape, Se-jeong along with a small group of survivors must fight to stay alive while the infected undergo horrific transformations.
Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Go Soo, Gianna Jun, Ji Chang-Wook, Yeon Sang-ho, Koo Kyo-hwan, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rock, Choi Gyu-seok
Sci Fi Movie News of Note:
According to Ridley Scott the sequel to Alien: Covenant is still in the works and it will center around Michael Fassbender’s David, even though he previously seemed reluctant to go that direction. There is still no guarantee this will move forward, though, seeing as there is also a potential sequel to Alien: Romulus also in the works, and 20th Century Fox may choose one over the other (Romulus performed better than Covenant in the theaters).
The search for the next James Bond continues, but appears to be narrowed down. According to Page Six, the actors currently being considered are Jack Barton, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, and Harris Dickinson, with the relatively unknown Turner (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) edging to the top of the list. Denis Villeneuve will be directing the film for Amazon MGM Studios.
Jame’s Gunn’s next Superman movie Man of Tomorrow has wrapped filming, but it will still be a while before it makes it to theaters as it is set for July 2027 premiere. DC and Warner Bros. will be hoping this one, in which Superman and Lex Luthor team up against Brainiac, will give a boost to the rebooted DC Universe after Supergirl counted as a flop this Summer.
RIP Tim Curry who passed away this week at the age of 80. He is a longtime character and voice actor, lending his talent to such sci fi and fantasy movies and shows as Legend (1985), IT (1990), Earth 2 (1994), Gargoyles (1995), Young Justice (2012), and more. But he is best known for his breakout role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Recent Trailers
Terrestrial (In Theaters, October 16th): A long overdue reunion weekend spirals out of control for four college friends. The host, an aspiring science fiction writer on the verge of sudden success, fights to maintain his sense of reality — a struggle which becomes increasingly difficult in the face of otherworldly dangers.
Directed by: Steve Pink
Starring: Jermaine Fowler, James Morosini, Pauline Chalamet, Edy Modica, Rob Yang, Brendan Hunt
Follow the Axiom’s Edge Sci Fi sites (AxiomsEdgeSciFi.com, CancelledSciFi.com, Cult-SciFi.com) to stay up to date on news, developments, scheduling info, and more for science fiction and fantasy television and movies. And be sure to sign up for our free email newsletter to help support our sites and reduce the number of ads.
Links of Interest: Sci Fi TV Premieres | Sci Fi TV Schedule | Sci Fi TV Cancellation Watch | Sci Fi Movie Schedule
Follow Us on Social Media:
CancelledSciFi.com: BlueSky | Mastodon | Facebook | Twitter
AxiomsEdgeSciFi.com: BlueSky | Twitter
Cult-SciFi.com: BlueSky
