18 most exciting sci-fi films to look forward to in 2018

A Marvel superhero movie packed with science-fiction tropes, including cool gadgets and futuristic cities. We’ll probably be the only people to call it a science-fiction film, but it definitely is one – and we absolutely can’t wait to see it.

The final part of the Maze Runner trilogy – about a bunch of kids trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world – arrives this year, after being delayed to give star Dylan O’Brien time to recover from injuries sustained on set.

Alex Garland follows up his complex sci-fi thriller Ex Machina with another complex straight-to-Netflix sci-fi thriller, following a biologist who embarks on a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don’t apply.

Sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s original, featuring John Boyega piloting a massive robot designed to smash up monsters.

Steven Spielberg goes back to blockbusters with this epic adaptation of Ernest Cline’s bestseller about a young man who loses himself in a VR world.

A young girl travels into deep space to rescue her astrophysicist father from a universe of evil. Ava DuVernay directs for Disney.

Science has accidentally created a giant monkey, giant crocodile and a giant wolf, and only The Rock can punch them out of existence. Based on a true story (probably).

Otherwise known as Cloverfield 3, otherwise known as ‘Untitled Cloverfield Sequel’ – The God Particle (or whatever it ends up being called) sees a group of scientists stranded in space after an experiment goes wrong – causing the earth to vanish. With a premise that strong, we don’t care what its name is.

Yes, it’s a superhero movie – but as it features a massive alien invader coming through a space wormhole, we’re having it for this list.

Han Solo: Origins arrives in May, so we’ll finally get to find out how Han met Chewie, and see how Ron Howard rescued the project from movie hell.

The follow-up to Jurassic World looks like a classic tale of boy meets girl, girl meets dinosaurs, dinosaurs meet volcano. It’ll probably be silly, but entertainingly so.

Another superhero movie with science-fictional tropes – with our hero able to shrink (and grow) at will! With the first film being a heist comedy, rumour has it that this one’s more of a romantic comedy. But whatever it is, as long as Paul Rudd’s smirking and shrinking, we don’t care.

The long (long, long) awaited adaptation of the 1990 manga series, which James Cameron first wanted to make eighteen years ago. It’s finally hitting the big screen this year, produced by Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez. It’s about cyber-girl on the run from vicious cyborgs, and looks a bit bonkers.

Get ready for a new ‘Is this a Christmas movie?’ debate to launch shortly after this Predator reboot hits cinemas, as it’s from Iron Man 3’s director Shane Black, and all of his movies are Christmas movies – even ones that are about massive alien hunters from space.

Science has accidentally created a giant shark, and only Jason Statham can punch it out of existence. Based on a true story (probably).

It’s got the plot of a ‘50s b-movie – alien comes from space to possess the living, turning its host into a monster – but Tom Hardy’s Venom will also add some horror and action elements to the mix, using its sci-fi tropes to hopefully create one of the most original superhero movies of the year.

Of all the science-fiction influenced superhero movies of the year, this is the big one – with the genetic mutants encountering ancient aliens who want to stop one of their ranks from becoming too powerful. This could be the final incarnation of Fox’s X-Men following the company’s sale to Disney – let’s hope they go out in style.

Cities in the form of giant cars travel around a post-nuclear war earth and occasionally fight each other. It’s from the mind of Peter Jackson, and it’ll either be Mad Max: Fury Road or Jupiter Ascending. We’re intrigued either way.