UPCOMING SCI-FI MOVIES NOW IN DEVELOPMENT

Who says Hollywood is creatively bankrupt? Well, um, actually we do – as this list of the usual slew of remakes, sequels and adaptations of novels and comic books planned by the major Hollywood studios for the next few years show . . .

-> DISNEY/PIXAR
John Carter of Mars (Andrew Stanton) – The first of three planned movies based on novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan. The first movie is to be based on his Princess of Mars book, which is the first adventure of John Carter, a Civil War veteran who unexpectedly find himself transplanted to the planet Mars. Yet this red planet is far more than a dusty, barren place; it's a fantasy world populated with giant green barbarians, beautiful maidens in distress, and weird flora and monstrous fauna. By the director of Finding Nemo.

-> DIMENSION
Cell (Eli Roth) – Adaptation of Stephen King novel about a cell phone signal which turns most of the planet’s population into raging zombies. By the director of Cabin Fever and the Hostel movies. Haven't we already seen this sort of thing in Pulse and 28 Days Later?

-> DREAMWORKS
Camp Creepy Time (TBC) – Based on an upcoming children’s book by actress Gina Gershon and her brother Dann Gershon. Summer-camp leaders are aliens turning fellow campers into monsters and shipping them to intergalactic zoos. An eccentric 13-year-old boy discovers what is happening and must rescue his fellow campers. Richard LaGravenese who wrote the screenplay for Freedom Writers and Bridges of Madison County will do the screenplay and possibly direct.

-> FOX
Fantastic Voyage (Roland Emmerich) – A remake of Fantastic Voyage, the 1960s movie starring Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasance, directed by Richard Fleischer.

Plot involves a scientist who is dying of a blood clot. His only chance for survival is for five scientist colleagues to be miniaturized in a ship, and injected into his bloodstream.

This is of course nothing new: the most recent movie to employ the same plot device was Inner Space, the 1987 comedy starring Dennis Quaid, Martin Short and Meg Ryan.

Magneto (David Goyer) – X-Men prequel which looks at the early life of Eric Lensherr (Magneto) and his friendship with Charles Xavier. This spin-off will follow a young Magneto (played in the original trilogy by Ian McKellen) discovering if his powers are real or not and the journey of his survival as a young man and how the one-time allies became mortal enemies.

Used Guys (TBC) – The futuristic Used Guys is set in a world where women run the Earth. Men became extinct because they ingested an enhancement drink that proved fatal. Carrey and Stiller will play clones rendered obsolete by superior models whose enhancements include better listening and lovemaking skills. The scorned clones make a run for it, bent on regaining their dignity by searching for a male nirvana known as Mantopia. This spoof of Logan’s Run was scheduled to star Jim Carrey and Ben Stiller. Jay Roach of Austin Powers fame was to direct. However its studio pulled the plug when the projected budget of $112 million became too high. Most of the money was supposed to go to the stars so expect this project to be revived sometime, but will smaller name stars.

-> LIONSGATE
The Spirit (Frank Miller) – Adapted from the legendary Will Eisner's graphic novels, The Spirit tells the visceral, action-packed story of a man who fakes his own death and fights crime from the shadows of Central City. The Octopus - who kills anyone unfortunate enough to see his face - has a different mission: he's going to wipe out the entire city. The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City's rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront... all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader. Expect something in the vein of Batman Begins and Sin City.

-> NEW LINE
20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea (TBC) – New version of the well-known Jules Verne novel.

The Time Traveller’s Wife (Robert Schwentke) – Adaptation of the Audrey Niffenegger novel, tells the story of a dashing librarian (Eric Bana) at Chicago's Newberry Library who has a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel. He must help his wife cope with the many complications of his disorder as the two are often out of sync.

Capricorn One (TBC) – Remake of the 1978 conspiracy thriller about a Mars landing faked by NASA.

-> PARAMOUNT
Thor (Matthew Vaughn) – Adaptation of the Marvel comic book franchise that launched in 1962. Thor is a blonde-tressed, hammer-wielding hero who's sent to Earth to protect mankind.

-> SONY
The Grays (Wolfgang Petersen) – Movie based on the novel by Whitley Strieber who claimed in his 1987 best-seller that he was abducted and anally probed by aliens. The Grays is supposedly non-fiction although according to Publishers Weekly it draws heavily from Communion. The plot? According to Publishers Weekly: “Danny and Katelyn Callaghan are a happily married couple oblivious that both took a saucer ride as kids—until a UFO sighting in their Indiana town awakens subliminal memories and excites their genius teenage son, Conner. Meanwhile, in a secret facility in Colorado, Air Force Lt. Lauren Glass learns that the Roswell incident really happened, and that for decades the surviving ETs have been sharing their advanced science with us. In exchange, these ‘Grays’ have sought to rejuvenate their dying species by genetically manipulating human receptacles for their DNA. But some military hard-liners see this as a betrayal of humanity, and they launch a manhunt that brings them to Indiana and the Callaghans' doorstep.”

At one stage Troy director Petersen was set to direct Ender’s Game, a bona fide science fiction classic by veteran SF writer Orson Scott Card. A pity that Strieber’s book – his UFO abduction claims have always been a bit of joke to be honest - is being made instead.

-> UNIVERSAL
Barbarella (Robert Rodriguez) – Barbarella tells the story of a female mercenary who roams across the universe in a distant future, undertaking missions that require her physical fearlessness, ingenuity and sensuality. In travels that span galaxies known and unknown, Barbarella will challenge tradition, startle the senses and take audiences on an epic adventure of discovery and wonder. Barbarella made her debut in 1962 in a French graphic magazine written and illustrated by Jean-Claude Forest, and her adventures have been published around the world. The first film version, starring Jane Fonda produced by Dino De Laurentiis, was released in 1968.

Creature from the Black Lagoon (Breck Eisner) – Remake of the old 1950s B-movie about a scientific expedition discovering a prehistoric amphibious creature.

Land of the Lost (Brad Silberling) – Based on the 1974-77 television series of the same name. The series revolved around forest ranger Rick Marshall and his children, Will and Holly, who are caught in a time vortex while rafting on the Colorado River and transported to a mysterious world populated by dinosaurs.

-> WALDEN
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Michael Apted) – Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world. Third of the Narnia films.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair (TBC) – Fourth of the Narnia films. Two English children undergo hair-raising adventures as they go on a search and rescue mission for the missing Prince Rilian, who is held captive in the underground kingdom of the Emerald Witch.

-> WARNER BROS.
Clash of the Titans (TBC) – A remake of the 1981 film version of the myth of Perseus and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster in order to save the Princess Andromeda. The original movie wasn't that good to begin with so why anyone would bother remaking it is a bit of a mystery . . .