Cinema is a relatively new artform — just a little over 100 years old. Literature, on the other hand, is one of the oldest arts in the world. There’s an endless well of stories out there, many of them with established fanbases, especially when it comes to the science fiction genre. Over the years, film studios have acquired the rights to countless sci-fi novels, bringing their unique stories and characters from the page to the silver screen. These stories tend to attract viewers with their futuristic ideas, technology, and societies. Even if they’re set thousands of years into the future, their worlds often reflect and parallel our own — and might serve as a warning of what’s to come.
These sci-fi tales might send us traversing across time and space. Or they might be set a little closer to home, in a dystopian world that’s been ravaged by an apocalypse. Some of these sci-fi adaptations are of recent bestsellers that are fresh off the press. Others are of classic novels, timeless stories that you grew up knowing, even if you’ve never actually read them yourself. Winter is the perfect time to cozy up under a blanket with a good book. Or if you prefer, you can check out one of these exciting sci-fi adaptations hitting our screens in the near future.
6
‘Mickey 17’
March 7, 2025
Mickey 17 is the highly anticipated next film from Bong Joon-ho, the acclaimed director behind the Oscar-winning movie, Parasite. Based on the 2022 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, it follows a disposable clone worker named Mickey, who’s sent on a dangerous mission to colonize an ice planet.
Mickey 17 is right up Bong Joon-ho’s alley with its unique premise and quirky characters. The film’s top-notch cast is led by Robert Pattinson, who’s joined by Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo. Based on Bong Joon-ho’s impressive track record, it’s safe to say that we can expect great things from Mickey 17.
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5
‘The Electric State’
March 14, 2025
Loosely based on 2018’s dystopian graphic novel by Simon Stålenhag, The Electric State is set in an alternate, technologically ravaged 1990s. Here, an orphaned teenager searches for her missing brother with a mysterious robot and an eccentric drifter.
The film stars Netflix’s protégé, Millie Bobby Brown, along with Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Giancarlo Esposito, and Stanley Tucci. Between The Electric State’s release and the highly anticipated return of Stranger Things, 2025 is shaping up to be a big year for Millie Bobby Brown and Netflix.
4
‘The Running Man’
November 7, 2025
Set in a distant dystopian future, The Running Man centers on a game show where convicted criminals, also known as “runners”, must escape death at the hands of professional killers. Many people don’t realize that The Running Man was adapted from the eponymous Stephen King novel, though the author published it under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
The Running Man was already famously made into a movie in 1987, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. This version was more of a humorous action film than the dark allegory that King intended. The 2025 remake, also titled The Running Man, will supposedly have a darker tone and be more faithful to the book. Hollywood’s It Guy of the moment, Glen Powell, was cast in the lead role, alongside Josh Brolin, Michael Cera, William H. Macy, David Zayas, Sean Hayes, and Colman Domingo.
3
‘Frankenstein’
November 2025
Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein, is widely regarded as the first true science-fiction story. It’s had an immeasurable impact on the horror and sci-fi genres, an influence that continues to resonate today. Over the years, there have been many adaptations of Shelley’s legendary tale. And in 2025, an exciting new entry will be added to this list. Despite the abundance of Frankenstein movies, there are many reasons to get excited about this particular adaptation. For one thing, its director and writer is Guillermo del Toro, an acclaimed filmmaker who’s known for blending fantasy, horror, and gothicism into his stories. That alone makes him perfect for adapting Shelley’s novel about a monster that’s shunned by his own creator.
Secondly, Frankenstein has been a passion project of del Toro’s for about 20 years. He once claimed that he would “would kill to make” this movie. In 2025, Netflix is giving del Toro the chance to finally bring his unique vision to life. And fortunately, he didn’t have to kill anyone to make it happen. Promising to focus more on the story’s tragedy, del Toro’s passion project will feature an ensemble cast led by Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein and Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s monster.
2
‘Project Hail Mary’
March 20, 2026
Based on the 2021 sci-fi novel by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary follows an astronaut who awakens on his spacecraft alone, with no memory of himself or his mission to save Earth. Ryan Gosling stars as the mission’s sole survivor and also serves as the film’s co-producer.
Weir famously wrote The Martian, which was adapted into the 2015 Oscar-nominated film starring Matt Damon. Project Hail Mary will be released on March 20, 2026. And if it’s as good as The Martian, then we should be in for another sci-fi treat.
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1
Untitled ‘Dune’ Sequel
2026
Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction classic, Dune, is the first entry in the Dune Chronicles. The original book has had an immeasurable influence on the sci-fi genre and has been called the best-selling science fiction novel of all time. Herbert himself wrote six installments of the series. Following his death, author Kevin J. Anderson and Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert, continued the series with over a dozen additional books.
The original Dune has been famously adapted into a blockbuster duology by Denis Villeneuve: 2021’s Dune and 2024’s Dune: Part II. Both films were critical and commercial successes, lauded for their epic scope, stellar performances, and breathtaking visuals. A third installment is currently in development, based on the second novel of Herbert’s series, Dune Messiah. It will be Villeneuve’s final Dune project. This movie is still a ways away. It’s scheduled for a 2026 release and doesn’t even have an official title yet. Will it be Dune: Part III or Dune Messiah? Either way, this is one sci-fi adaptation that you’ll definitely hear more about as we make our way through 2025.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
