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2020 was supposed to be the year for smart sci-fi’s triumphant return to theaters, but the likes of Dune, BIOS, and The Matrix 4 can ensure 2021 revives the sub-genre for fans. Before the global coronavirus pandemic hit and redefined the movie-going experience for the foreseeable future, 2020 looked likely to see cinema goers flock to a string of more thoughtful, smart sci-fi blockbusters.

Christopher Nolan’s time-twisting thriller Tenet seemed set to rival his earlier sci-fi hits in its clever, tightly constructed story, but the movie underperformed as audiences avoided the multiplex due to the ongoing pandemic. Meanwhile, Dennis Villeneuve’s reimagining of Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novel Dune was set to thrill audiences and offer a more faithful version of the text than David Lynch’s infamous '80s movie, but Dune's release date has been delayed until 2021 in the hopes that the cinema industry will be closer to normality by then.

2020 was intended to be the year for smart sci-fi’s revival as a sub-genre, with the likes of Tenet and Dune being designed to reignite interest in a more thoughtful brand of science fiction. The genre’s last period of popularity came about in the mid-2010s when the likes of Alfonso Cuaron’s intense space-set survival thriller Gravity, Nolan’s aforementioned Interstellar, Rian Johnson’s Looper, and the Rise of the Planet of the Apes movies dominated multiplexes. 2020 looked set to see this trend return to mainstream popularity, but the pandemic meant Tenet struggled and Dune (and The Matrix 4, and Tom Holland vehicle Chaos Walking, and even Sony Animation’s Connected) was delayed. However, these delays have made the 2021 slate even more impressive, and if all goes to plan (which is admittedly a big if), then the year could deliver a lot of truly great, thought-provoking science fiction for film fans.

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Villeneuve has a long history of creating thought-provoking science fiction, as evidenced by everything from 2016’s Arrival to his underrated Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner 2049, and as a result, expectations are high for his reimagining of Dune. Meanwhile, the director of 2010’s underrated sci-fi satire Repo Men Miguel Sapochnik is making a long-awaited return to the big screen with BIOS, a post-apocalyptic character study that sees Tom Hanks star as a lonely inventor stranded on empty earth and Caleb Landry Jones as his robot pal. The director’s pedigree includes Game of Thrones’ long-awaited “Battle of the Bastards,” so the promising project is clearly in good hands. Finally, the long-rumored The Matrix 4 is hitting screens in 2021, with the Wachowski Sisters returning to their most beloved franchise and bringing back series stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss.

Although the original trilogy’s famous antagonist Hugo Weaving won’t be returning to be the villain in The Matrix 4, there’s a slew of new faces keeping things interesting in The Matrix universe, with Jonathan Groff appearing in an as-yet-unknown role. Meanwhile, Antoine Fuqua’s Infinite looks set to be another promising addition to the thoughtful sci-fi line up as the film follows a schizophrenic man’s discovery that his hallucinations are actually past life memories. Of course, there will be plenty of more lighthearted sci-fi fare hitting cinemas in 2021 too, with the likes of The Tomorrow War and Connected being released the same year. But The Matrix 4, Dune, Bios, and Infinite look likely to reignite public interest in smarter sci-fi, provided cinemas stay open long enough for the films to see the light of day.

Dune (2021)
Release Date: Oct 01, 2021

The Matrix 4 (2021)
Release Date: Dec 22, 2021

Chaos Walking (2021)
Release Date: Jan 22, 2021