Throwback Review: 'The Angry Red Planet' (1959)

We Earthlings have always been fascinated by Mars. It's the name, I think; when you name a bright red planet after the God of War, you've set that planet up to have a bad reputation. We've always imagined that if there aliens on Mars, they're probably a pretty hostile lot. 

Generations of children grew up fearing an attack from that planet, Martians pouring forth from their flying saucers and obliterating us all with their ray guns.

New photos surface from Syfy's 'Krypton' pilot!

If you've been looking forward to more details on Syfy's upcoming 'Krypton' series, then you'll be happy to hear that we've got new images from the pilot to share with you today! Seven images to be exact that show off the cast in various situations that promises tension and action right off the bat.

Solo could explore an iconic unseen moment from Star Wars history

The Orville could cross paths with another Seth McFarlane show. You'll be waiting a while for the next season of Rick and Morty. There's more discussion of the future of The X-Files after Gillian Anderson's departure. Plus, Captain Marvel casting, a new clip from Agents of SHIELD, and more. To me, my spoilers!

9 awesome items that will transform your room into a Star Wars-themed paradise

With the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, our obsession for the adventurous galactic universe is at an all-time high.

While the new movie totally blew our minds, our love for Star Wars goes way back, so we've had plenty of time to dream ourselves into every one of its storylines.

Star Wars 9 shock: Rey is NOT that powerful in the Force and can NEVER be a Jedi

Rey is constantly shocking everyone around her (and often the audience) with her incredible displays of power.

How did she hold her own against Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens with no training? How did she battle Snoke's Praetorian Guard - supposedly the greatest warriors in the galaxy - with half an afternoon's training on Ahch-To? How did she lift a landslide of boulders in a messianic moment?
It simply stretches credulity and has tried the patience of many hardcore fans.

The Force is real: how 'Star Wars' neuroscience is revolutionizing healthcare and more

More than 40 years after it hit theaters for the first time, the cultural influence of the "Star Wars" movie franchise is undeniable. You can see that reach in the skyrocketing box-office take of the most recent installment, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, whose ticket sales worldwide raced past the $1 billion mark just before New Year's Day.What most people don't realize is how impactful "Star Wars" has been on science and technology.

Take the revolutionary prosthetic hand developed under the direction of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Made available in late 2016 to veterans who had lost an upper limb, this robotic hand is called L.U.K.E. That acronym officially stands for "Life Under Kinetic Evolution." No one is being fooled here: This incredible achievement of DARPA

Science fiction: 3 new short story collections worth reading

British artist and graphic novelist Dave McKean is probably best known for many collaborations with his friend Neil Gaiman. Here he turns the tables on nine distinguished writers: Instead of illustrating their stories, he's invited them to write original tales inspired by his evocative and often surrealistic paintings, reproduced in a muted palette of browns and blacks.

Could you be our new Sci-Fi Eye?

The Engineer's resident science fiction writer, Jon Wallace, is relinquishing his hold on our crystal ball, and we're looking for a successor.

Media black out: first 'The X-Files', now Gillian Anderson is leaving 'American Gods'

Gillian Anderson has already expressed that the current eleventh season of 'The X-Files' will be her last. (Considering that ratings for the first episode were considerably lower than those of last year's revival, the show may not be back again, anyway.)

Which franchise has made more money - 'Harry Potter' or 'Star Wars'?

By Luke Morgan Britton

Who wins - Han or Harry?
New box office figures answer the question of which film saga has made more money: Harry Potter or Star Wars? The latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, was released in December and was the highest-grossing film at UK cinemas in 2017. The instalment also saw the Star Wars films overtake the Harry Potter series in overall box office takings.

Science fiction and folk medicine inspire novel wound dressings

A relatively inexpensive egg-based formula and a Star Trek-like plasma patch can accelerate healing of serious and chronic wounds, which affect millions of Europeans every year.

Well we hope you enjoyed this issue of StarWarrior. Let us know what you think, we'd love to hear from you! Send in your Cosplay photos and a brief bio and you too could feature in StarWarrior!

Thomas Austen
thomasausten@starwarrior.space

News email: news@starwarrior.space

Admin email: johnausten@starwarrior.space                                

The Rock is a 'Star Wars' super fan and planted a reference to Han Solo in 'Jumanji'

By Olivia Singh, INSIDER

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would like everyone to know that he is a massive fan of the "Star Wars" franchise - and he found a way to include a Han Solo reference in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle."

In addition to paying tribute to Robin Williams in the new film, there are plenty of other references and Easter eggs that viewers might have noticed if they payed close attention.

The one change 'Star Wars: the Last Jedi' should have actually made

Weeks later, I'm continuing to think about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and all the controversy that's surrounded the film, including a split between critics and fans who loved it, and other fans who seem to think it's the worst thing since Anakin's reflections on sand.

I loved it after I saw it, and I still love it now, upon further reflection. I think it destroys tropes and shatters nostalgia in a way that makes me excited about the potential of Star Wars again. I love Rian Johnson for being brave enough to do that, and the fact that Disney let him.

Mark Hamill force chokes 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' by saying the prequels weren't "trying to do the same" thing "over again"

As Luke Skywalker, if anyone has a right to say things about the 'Star Wars' franchise, it is Mark Hamill. He's recently made some remarks that might stir up fans by calling the prequel trilogy as being more creative than 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens. ' Before anyone who couldn't stand those Jar Jar Binks infested movies stands up in uproar, you should hear his reasoning why before throwing your opinion down. I mean, he could just wave his hand and tell you that these aren't the movies that you are looking for. We should at least hear Hamill out first.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - This is the real reason why there are porgs

The inspiration for the squeaking, wide-eyed little creatures on Luke Skywalker's solitary island in the latest Stars Wars film have been revealed as puffins.

The team doing the Last Jedi special effects said it was easier to turn the seabirds native to Skellig Michael, off the south-west coast of Ireland, into a new "indigenous species" rather than digitally remove them.

Science fiction when the future is now

Six authors parse the implications of our unhinged era for their craft.

AlphaGo, fake news, cyberwar: 2017 has felt science-fictional in the here and now. Space settlement and sea-steading seem just around the bend; so, at times, do nuclear war and pandemic. With technological change cranked up to warp speed and day-to-day life smacking of dystopia, where does science fiction go? Has mainstream fiction taken up the baton?

The 5 best sci-fi movies of 2017

By Dirk Libbey

Science fiction is always a popular genre at the movies as it brings worlds and creatures that we can otherwise only imagine to life. It's about living in the future or traveling through space. It shows us technology that may never exist. At it's best, it uses this distance from reality to show us something truly real. It's the perfect genre for those that use the cinema as a place to escape reality, while still thinking critically about the world around us.

Some of the best movies of the year were science fiction films, so this list isn't just the best of the genre, but also some of the best films you could have seen this year. Here are the best sci-fi films of 2017.

The difference between science fiction and fantasy: what every screenwriter needs to know

By: Script Magazine

We all know him: Kal-El, the last son of Krypton. He's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Known as "the man of steel," Superman emulates truth, justice and the American way. Most of us love, or at least like him. Given the choice of superpowers to pick from, I imagine most of us would choose his. But to the writer, and more specifically, the screenwriter, what is Superman?

From Mcquarrie to Chiang: highlights from 40 years of Lucasfilms Star Wars holiday cards

In December 1977, after Star Wars had spent six months taking audiences to a brand-new galaxy far, far away, Lucasfilm began a holiday tradition of sending cards to friends and corporate partners that still continues today. The very first Lucasfilm holiday card, which was an unassuming, Hollywood-themed greeting card, was probably sent to a few hundred recipients in 1977 and then subsequently relegated to the backs of file cabinet drawers - or worse - after the holiday season.

Take a Luke...

By Rosie Gizauskas

Star Wars fans are one step closer to actually flying the Millennium Falcon. Disney have now released the first photo of the brand new attraction - and fans are going weak at the knees. With Disney's new Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge theme parks due to open in 2019 in California and Florida, fans have been eagerly awaiting glimpses from the actual park - and now they have one.

Artificially intelligent robots could soon gain consciousness and rebel against humans to 'ELIMINATE us', scientist warns

From babysitting children to beating the world champion at Go, robots are slowly but surely developing more and more advanced capabilities.
And many scientists, including Professor Stephen Hawking, suggest it may only be a matter of time before machines gain consciousness.

'Maayavan' review: Science fiction or science lesson?

Maayavan's basic premise is great. But its execution on screen quite isn't.

Maayavan opens with Ilaiyaraaja's soothing 'Keladi Kanmani' number playing on what looks like a radio. But the listener isn't someone sitting in a tea shop in Thanjavur; he is lying in what looks like a futuristic hospital bed. The year, we're informed, is 2037.

2017 celebrity deaths: Science fiction and the world lost iconic talents

Looking back on 2017, it's impossible to forget the entertainment icons who were taken too soon. We lost a Batman and a James Bond in Adam West and Roger Moore, directors such as Jonathan Demme and George Romero, and actors with distinguished careers like Sam Shepard -- a Renaissance man of the arts. But one particular universe feels emptier as we look ahead to 2018: science fiction films.

Throwback Review: 'Solaris' (1972)

By Tony Schaab

Mention the words "science fiction," and many minds automatically picture large ships gliding through space, shooting lasers at one another, or bizarre and fascinating alien life making contact for the first time (or invading the Earth).

Deadpool Is already making trouble for Disney

By Emily Schaab

A certain anti-superhero isn't too happy about the Disney Fox merger. Leave it to Deadpool to rain on the Disney's parade!

The Merc with a mouth didn't waste any time making an impression on his new bosses, although it wasn't exactly a great one. Ryan Reynolds shared a photo of that first impression, and it seems Deadpool managed to get himself arrested at Disney World. The image shows a security guard ushering Deadpool out of the magical Disney kingdom with the caption "Apparently you can't actually blow the Matterhorn."

Are we all aliens? Scientists create life's building blocks in a space-like environment suggesting we were created from interstellar dust

Life may have begun in the frigid vacuum of space, according to experts who found small organic molecules can form under these conditions.
Scientists were able to prompt chemical reactions that resulted in the creation of the building blocks for early organisms in a simulated solar system.
Rather than starting here on Earth, the finding suggests that the compounds needed for proteins and carbohydrates to develop may be extra terrestrial in origin.