2018 was a mixed bag for sci-fi fans, but hopes are high 2019 will deliver more hits than duds. A new Star Wars film arrives, Paramount Pictures has revived the Terminator franchise, and the cool Men in Black agents return to monitor alien activity on Earth. Godzilla stomps his way into theaters, Keanu Reeves creates a clone of his dead wife in Replicas, and M. Night Shyamalan unveils the final chapter in the saga that began with Unbreakable.
2019’s comic book-inspired films have their own preview so they aren’t included on this list. This year’s sci-fi offerings are listed below in alphabetical order and include cast lists and plot descriptions, if available. Release dates may change and there’s always the possibility one of the film’s listed could wind up going straight to video.
Ad Astra – May 24, 2019
Starring Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Kennedy, and John Finn
The Plot: A sci-fi epic starring Jones as Pitt’s character’s father. The father left his son 20 years ago to search for life on Neptune. Pitt’s character follows his dad’s journey two decades later.
Brightburn – May 24, 2019
Starring Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones, and Meredith Hagner
The Plot: What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? With Brightburn, the visionary filmmaker of Guardians of the Galaxy and Slither presents a startling, subversive take on a radical new genre: superhero horror.
Captive State – March 29, 2019
Starring John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, Colson Baker, and Vera Farmiga
The Plot: Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extra-terrestrial force, Captive State explores the lives on both sides of the conflict – the collaborators and dissidents.
Chaos Walking – March 1, 2019
Starring Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, and Nick Jonas
The Plot: From Carnegie Award-winning author Patrick Ness comes a bold cinematic experience beyond imagination. Todd Hewitt lives on the distant planet of New World – a new hope for humanity until struck by The Noise, a virus which inflicts immersive visions of ones’ every thought. The cacophony drives many mad until Todd makes a hidden, silent discovery: there is a girl named Viola, who may be the key to unlocking New World’s many layered secrets.
Together, the two unlikely companions are forced on a white-knuckle adventure into an unexplored planet – trying to escape and hide in an environment where all thought is heard, all movement seen – as they both discover the truth about the lives they left behind and the spectacular world they’ve learned to call home.
Gemini Man – October 4, 2019
Starring Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong
The Plot: Gemini Man is an innovative action-thriller starring Will Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite assassin, who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move.
Glass – January 18, 2019
Starring Samuel L Jackson, James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodward, and Bruce Willis
The Plot: M. Night Shyamalan brings together the narratives of two of his standout originals — 2000’s Unbreakable, from Touchstone, and 2016’s Split, from Universal — in one explosive, all-new comic-book thriller: Glass. From Unbreakable, Bruce Willis returns as David Dunn as does Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price, known also by his pseudonym Mr. Glass.
Joining from Split are James McAvoy, reprising his role as Kevin Wendell Crumb and the multiple identities who reside within, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, the only captive to survive an encounter with The Beast. Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn pursuing Crumb’s superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters – May 31, 2019
Starring Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Thomas Middleditch, Charles Dance, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Aisha Hinds, and Zhang Ziyi
The Plot: The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species—thought to be mere myths—rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance.
Men in Black: International – June 14, 2019
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Rafe Spall, Laurent Bourgeois, Larry Bourgeois, Emma Thompson, and Liam Neeson
The Plot: The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.
POKÉMON Detective Pikachu – May 10, 2019
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, and Ken Watanabe
The Plot: The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to communicate with one another, Tim and Pikachu join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery.
Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City—a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world—they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.
Replicas – January 11, 2019
Starring Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, and Thomas Middleditch
The Plot: In this sci-fi thriller, neuro-scientist William Foster (Reeves) is on the verge of successfully transferring human consciousness into a computer when his family is tragically killed in a car crash. Desperate to resurrect them, William recruits fellow scientist Ed Whittle (Middleditch) to help him secretly clone their bodies and create replicas. But he soon faces a “Sophie’s choice” when it turns out that they can only bring three of the four family members back to life.
Star Wars: Episode IX – December 20, 2019
Starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Carrie Fisher, Billie Lourd, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell
The Plot: The conclusion of the Star Wars sequel trilogy doesn’t have an official plot description.
Terminator – November 1, 2019
Starring Natalia Reyes, Mackenzie Davis, Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta
The Plot: Paramount Pictures has not released details on the plot. The film is expected to be a direct sequel of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
- A Look Back at 2018’s Horror Films
- Animated Movies Heading to Theaters in 2019
- 2019’s Romantic Comedies: Casts and Plot Details
- Horror Films of 2019
